Tijjani Reijnders indicated that he wanted to stay at AC Milan until he was thirty. The love appears to be mutual, but initially there were still doubts at the Italian top club. ‘The reports showed that Reijnders was not bad, but not great either.’
Milan signed Reijnders before the start of last season. The 26-year-old midfielder immediately won a starting place and has become an indispensable part of Paulo Fonseca’s team. Geoffrey Moncada could not have immediately anticipated that. “Reijnders needed a lot of time to reach this level,” the technical director reflected in an interview with DAZN.
‘He had to leave AZ on loan to get playing minutes. Of course it was in our database. The reports showed that Reijnders was not bad, but not great either,” Moncada indicated. ‘But when AZ played in the Conference League, I saw him against Lazio and then West Ham United. Then I realized that this player could do anything.’
Moncada calls Reijnders a player with technical skills and a positive mindset. ‘Someone who wants to play the ball forward. I thought: we have to bring him to Milan and then we will see how he develops. Stefano Pioli (the trainer at the time, ed.) said that he was a number 8 wanted who could arrange things. We showed him Reijnders and he was immediately impressed.’
Reijnders will play the top match against Juventus with Milan on Saturday. After fourteen matches in Serie A, the midfielder has four goals and three assists this season. “I think he can easily score ten goals,” Moncada concluded. ‘But can also give ten assists. That might be just as important.’
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