Ready-made "Guardiola-style player"? Reindez is a combination of B seats and Gundogan

Reindez officially joined Manchester City for a transfer fee of 55 million euros. In the eyes of TheAthletic author Sam Lee, this Dutch midfielder who had outstanding performance in Milan last season was the "Guardiola-like player" who matched the most in Manchester City's midfield reinforcement process.

Reindez admitted in an interview with TA last month: "As I get older, I have begun to constantly study De Bruyne's games. I watch his games, watch his highlights, especially the way he observes the stadium before receiving the ball - which allows him to always know where the space is. I'm trying to do the same."

With De Bruyne who has been playing for ten years about to leave, Manchester City is seeking to rebuild the midfield after a tough season.

Interestingly, Reindes, who landed at the Etihad Stadium for 55 million euros, happens to be a "Guardiola-like" player. In addition, Reindez used Barcelona's Spanish legend Iniesta as a template for his game early in his career to shape his game - it can be seen that he would be very suitable for Guardiola's team. Given the historical connection between the Netherlands and Barcelona, ​​Cruyff and Guardiola, the 26-year-old Dutch midfielder's prospects at Manchester City also seem to be more promising.

In addition, whether you have followed Reindez's game before he had an affair with Manchester City, or only learned about him after reading relevant reports, once you become familiar with his game style, you will really only come to one conclusion: his midfield position at Manchester City will be as good as a fish.

Although Reindez learned a lot from De Bruyne, his playing style is still closer to the combination of B-seat and Gundogan. Perhaps finding three exactly the same replacements after the three of them left may not be helpful to Manchester City. But these three players undoubtedly represent some distinctive qualities that Manchester City midfielders should have in the Guardiola era - they are the best interpretations of Manchester City midfielders.

Reindez is not particularly tenacious in defense, but he has an exciting comprehensive quality when holding the ball, which should make Manchester City fans excited. He is a player who can make an impact in all areas of the court: first, he is very good at receiving the ball from the goalkeeper (which is also the cornerstone of Manchester City's offensive organization), and he is usually the midfielder with the lowest position in Milan - he does this mainly to prepare for the ball, rather than taking on the full-time midfielder. In this regard, Reindes can show his influence in Manchester City midfield regardless of whether Rodri returns to the team due to injury or not.

When facing a team that is particularly good at pressing at high positions, Manchester City may use players like Gundogan to pull back to help Rodri, but at the same time expect him to press up as the game progresses and even contribute to the offensive third zone - this is exactly what Reindez often does. As a player who can control the pace of the game through a variety of ways (fast short passes, ball propulsion or off-ball runs), this makes Reindes an ideal choice to contribute to Manchester City throughout the midfield area.

Below is an inconspicuous example of Milan's previous match against Bologna, but it shows how Reindez seeks to catch the ball and how he can help the team move forward without the ball.

Reindez got the ball on the edge of Milan's penalty area and knocked back to the goalkeeper and then signaled where the kick should be passed. Then he moved 20 yards diagonally into the space, calling for the ball while moving. When he gets the ball again, he quickly passes the ball, keeps up with his teammates' rhythm, and then activates again, attacking the space behind him.

Although the next ball was intercepted, Reindez had lifted the team out of pressure and entered an offensive position through just two regular passes. Runs like this are indeed a feature of Reindez's game, and it's easy to see how they will fit seamlessly in Manchester City.

The following is an example of Milan losing to Naples in March. Reindez wanted the ball but didn't get it, so he ran and asked again. Once he received the pass, he pushed the ball to the edge of the opponent's penalty area, where he was intercepted.

In addition, Reindez did have many runnings like B seats and Gundogan in the game.

His run behind his insertion in rib space is typical of Gundogan style, and so is the trick to getting into the penalty area and shooting later. However, according to data from SkillCorner, analyzing player movements on the field, Reindes is actually closer to the B seat, especially in supporting the offense and providing the pass route.

("Playing before the ball" is defined as a running in front of the player holding the ball without breaking through the defense.)

Manchester City attaches great importance to the ability to carry the ball in recent midfield signings (a major feature of Reindez), which is undoubtedly a response to the Premier League's increasing emphasis on physical confrontation and human-to-man trends, but the effect has not been fully realized as planned.

Kavacic is often in trouble, and Nunes can't even get a stable playing time in the midfield. So when City signed Nico Gonzalez in the winter window, people probably didn’t feel particularly excited about his previous slap forward with a lot of balls in Porto (especially on the left and offensive third). But Nico Gonzalez is also a player who can catch the ball deep in the midfield and help the team move forward through passes - people have seen him more in the game since joining Manchester City in the winter window.

When Manchester City needs a stable midfielder (rather than a player who is prone to losing positions and running to the front of the ball), Nico Gonzalez looks more like a pass-type midfielder than a running midfielder.

Meanwhile, Kovacic has encountered difficulties in controlling his instinct to carry the ball. Guardiola once said Nunes "is not smart enough in being calm" and is not competent for the heavy responsibility of the midfield for the time being. Therefore, as a new player, it is still unknown whether Reindez can bring substantial improvements.. But he is obviously more adaptable, and his technical comprehensiveness is far beyond Nunes' performance before joining Manchester City.

Without the ball, Reindez is not that strong in one-on-one and two-pointer competition. This is an aspect that Guardiola's midfielder has always been good at, although this is clearly missing in the middle of the season. Perhaps Reindez can make progress like Gundogan and B, but no one can assert what the future will be like now.

In general, Reindez can already be regarded as a standard "Guardiola player" with his passing, calmness in a small space and ability to control the game. Coupled with wise ball-holding ability will really help Manchester City deal with the physical confrontation in the Premier League. However, if they really want to strengthen the midfield affected by age issues and revitalize after De Bruyne leaves, they may need more than these skills this summer.

If Reindez is just a "engineering" player in the penalty area, combining him with Kovacic, Gundogan in his late age and Nico Gonzalez who are still adapting may lead to a lack of sharpness in the midfield. Therefore, what really makes him an exciting signing is not only his comprehensive style of play, but also his goal-scoring ability - he scored 15 goals in various competitions this season, and most of the goals are precisely derived from those passing and control traits that fit Manchester City.

For example, he scored a goal against Spain on behalf of the Netherlands: he received the persistence of returning passes, accurate transmission, resolute forwarding, and finally calmly completed a fatal blow. In November, he scored a key goal with his exquisite footwork and iconic back-shot run, putting an end to his amazing performance. In that Real Madrid game, he also gave Theo Hernandez this exquisite over-the-top pass:

As a player who can resolve crises in the backcourt, support midfielders, run into Huanglong with the ball and complete the end or assist, Reindes' joining Manchester City has undoubtedly given Manchester City a rare treasure. With such diverse technology, Reindez can flexibly adjust his role according to the battle situation like Guardiola has coached B seats and Gundogan for many years.

How many new midfielders Manchester City will introduce this summer is still unknown. TA has reported that clubs need to control their salary, which means players may need to be sold first to bring in multiple targets.

Even so, adding only two new players is enough to activate the vitality of the midfield and even the entire team. The 24/25 season is the first time that Reindes has achieved such high yields, and Manchester City naturally hopes that this is not a flash in the pan. Although his defensive contribution is not as good as his ball-holding ability, he already possesses many of the core qualities of Manchester City's legendary midfielder.

(Armour)