Reijnders, Aït-Nouri, and Cherki: Introducing City’s new signings

What are they bringing to the table?

Picking Manchester City players in FPL is pretty straightforward—once we see someone with secured expected minutes and enough routes to points, we buy them. Unfortunately, Erling Haaland and Josko Gvardiol were about the only ones who didn’t cause you some sleepless nights.

It’s not like we suddenly have clarity about City’s line-up at this early stage of the pre-season, but so many transfers have already taken place that they are too appealing not to discuss their potential. Both generally and from a fantasy perspective.

So far, apart from a number three goalkeeper, Marcus Bettinelli, Cityzens have signed three new faces. Each of them offers something different, and even though there’s still so much information to gain, I think it will be interesting to have an early look and bring ourselves up to speed.

A short one for the weekend.

Tijjani Reijnders and his box-crashing

Tijjani Reijnders could be an exciting addition to Pep’s line-up next season.

And potentially for FPL players, if all the pieces come together. Many factors remain uncertain, but we can debate his attacking potential.

Last season at AC Milan, he became the most utilised outfield player with nearly 3,400 minutes played. He was everywhere in midfield, which is a statement involving multiple layers.

Based on the average height of touches with the ball, he spent about 1,400 minutes as the deepest midfielder, 1,200 in a more box-to-box role, and roughly 800 in areas typically assigned to a number 10.

Irrespective of where he started, he was all over the place and brought a lot of value to Milan, both in terms of his passing range and running with or without the ball. With him, the midfield was lively. He is constantly on the move and demands the ball to carry it forward.

His passing is also top-tier. Advanced metrics that measure how his distribution increases the likelihood of his team scoring a goal place him among the best players in his position, and he also possesses a good vision for the final pass from central areas and both half-spaces.

The Dutch can get the ball into the box with a run, dribble, pass, or cross, and do so regularly.

However, what really sets him apart is his goal threat. Last season, across all competitions, he scored 15 goals (and assisted 5), which certainly isn’t a standard for a player with that deep average position.

In Serie A alone, he racked up 75 shots (almost 2 per 90 minutes) and 8 xG (0.22 per 90), with 32 attempts originating inside the box.

There were even some open play goals from the 6-yard box, which demonstrates how dangerous positions he can reach.