Tijjani Reijnders appears set to leave Manchester City after manager Enzo Maresca suggested it could be the best outcome for the Netherlands midfielder, who is reportedly close to joining Saudi Pro League club Al-Qadsiah.
Reijnders moved to City last year after impressing for AC Milan in Serie A, but has found it difficult to establish himself at the club. Despite making 47 appearances in all competitions, including 31 starts, he scored seven goals and supplied seven assists.
Al-Qadsiah are reported to have reached an agreement with both Manchester City and Reijnders, although Maresca said the transfer had not yet been formally completed.
Speaking before City’s Community Shield meeting with Arsenal on Sunday, Maresca said: “It’s a bit difficult to convince players when they are already convinced, it’s not always easy. It’s Tijani’s situation.
“I think when the club, players, manager, they all think in the same way, that is probably the best decision for a player to go? They go.
“Tij is not officially done, but we’ll see in the next hour. I already spoke with him a few times in pre-season, then we will see if he is going to leave or if he is going to stay, we try to.
“In the way he was playing in the pre-season games, I was quite happy with his performance overall. I know Tij from Italy, from Milan when he was there so I know him quite well. I know there he was playing in a different position, he likes to play a little deeper rather than high up the pitch, but again in the pre-season he was good.
“We’ll see what happens and we’ll decide.”
Maresca said Reijnders’ position was comparable to that of James Trafford and Omar Marmoush, with both players also linked with possible departures from Manchester City.
City have recently sold Trafford, whose playing time was restricted last season, while there has been speculation that Marmoush could also leave.
Asked whether Reijnders had been influenced by his limited involvement during the previous campaign, Maresca replied: “Probably, yes.”
He added: “As I said, they all work every day, they do sessions every day and at the end of the week they all want to play a game. When they don’t play, they struggle to understand or see the reason why. I can understand that after one season, some of them would like to play a little bit more. It’s a normal situation.”
Manchester City are also reportedly interested in Chelsea and Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez. Chelsea are said to be seeking £120m for Fernandez and have set Friday as a deadline for any potential sale.
However, Maresca indicated that City were not expected to make a move before the reported deadline.
Asked whether the club would act, he said: “Not today, to be honest. I don’t think we’re going to do something today.”
Savinho is another Manchester City player whose future is uncertain, with Tottenham interested in the Brazilian.
Maresca said Savinho had missed training on Thursday because he was unwell, leaving his availability and future decision unclear.
“[On Thursday] he was not part of the session. He was a bit ill. We’ll see, the session is in the afternoon [on Friday], we’ll see how it is and we’ll decide,” Maresca said of Savinho.
