Why Tijjani Reijnders would be a great signing for Nottingham Forest this summer

[p]None more so than another change of manager, with owner Evangelos Marinakis showing his intentions clearly by securing Oliver Glasner.[/p][h2]Glasner was always going to walk away from [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/crystal-palace/AovF1Mia/"]Crystal Palace[/a][/h2][p]The Austrian had just overseen arguably the most successful period in Crystal Palace's history, winning the FA Cup for the first time, before going on to win the UEFA Conference League.[/p][p]Of course, history will note that they should've actually been in the Europa League alongside [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/nottingham/UsushcZr/"]Forest[/a], but close ties to [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/lyon/2akflumR/"]Lyon[/a] through the co-owner of both clubs, John Textor, meant a demotion to UEFA's third biggest competition.[/p][embed guid="6ba28488-1fb5-4c2e-a2de-00da83ef644d" url="https://x.com/premierleague/status/2012166700075188254" social-type="twitter" /][p]Unfortunately for Palace and chairman Steve Parish, Glasner had made up his mind to leave the South London outfit long before their European success.[/p][p]Having sold the scorer of the FA Cup-winning goal, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/eze-eberechi/Stf4BYFn/"]Eberechi Eze[/a], to [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/arsenal/hA1Zm19f/"]Arsenal[/a], and then acceding to the transfer of captain [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/guehi-marc/KEeklutO/"]Marc Guehi[/a] to [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/manchester-city/Wtn9Stg0/"]Man City[/a], that was too much for Glasner to bear, and Palace were lucky that he decided to stay on and see out the season rather than walk away in January.[/p][h2][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/reijnders-tijani/f17EnPl3/"]Reijnders[/a] targeted by Forest[/h2][p]Palace's pain is likely to be Forest's gain, and if Marinakis continues to back his manager in the way that Parish didn't (or wouldn't), then it could be the Austrian's next success story.[/p][p]Certainly, if recent reports are anything to go by, Forest might take many by surprise in 2026/27.[/p][p]Just one year ago, Man City signed incredible Dutch talent Tijjani Reijnders from [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/ac-milan/8Sa8HInO/"]AC Milan[/a], but the Tricky Trees are now looking at the possibility of bringing the player to the City Ground for a club record £55m.[/p][embed guid="f6499a54-0a0c-4f53-a8bd-5c055215c53d" url="https://x.com/FabrizioRomano/status/2084658936402108597" social-type="twitter" /][p]That would completely obliterate the current record for a new signing, which was £37.5m for [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/giraud-hutchinson-omari/pQLd3K5k/"]Omari Hutchinson[/a] in 2025.[/p][p]A bit of a difference from when Forest shook the football world in 1979 by making Trevor Francis the first £1m player.[/p][h2]Why are Man City allowing Reijnders to leave?[/h2][p]One might question why City would even consider allowing Reijnders to leave after only 12 months, but the player hasn't really been able to establish himself as a regular starter and is likely to jump at the chance of some regular football.[/p][p]With [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/anderson-elliott/KdYCbsbE/"]Elliot Anderson[/a] already having signed for City, and the club looking to tie down 18-year-old [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/bouaddi-ayyoub/dpoNasPg/"]Ayyoub Bouaddi[/a], too, Reijnders will almost certainly face the same problems in 2026/27 as he has since his move from Serie A.[/p][embed guid="16400830-d194-403b-8380-547a1daad288" url="https://x.com/ManCity/status/2080322054868324378" social-type="twitter" /][p]Were he to accede to Forest's advances, what would the Dutchman bring to a side that only showed glimpses of their talent last season?[/p][p]For a start, his seven assists were the fourth-best output in the City squad in 2025/26, and his seven goals were only four behind [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/semenyo-antoine/r1Gz1yPk/"]Antoine Semenyo[/a].[/p][h2]Driving at the opposition is Reijnders' forte[/h2][p]Seven fast breaks were only topped by [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/haaland-erling/UmV9iQmE/"]Erling Haaland[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/cherki-mathis/vm0eu2V3/"]Rayan Cherki[/a], and whilst his shooting accuracy of 42.65% and his shot conversion rate of 7.61% aren't the best, nor is goalscoring necessarily his primary concern.[/p][p]His ability to hold onto the ball whilst driving at the opposition defence at pace is second to none, and with a pass completion rate of 90.38%, it's clear where Reijnders' talent lies.[/p][image alt="Tijjani Reijnders radar graphic - Premier League 2025/26" id="311c747c-c368-4a5b-8256-f7368bed6f8d" credit-line="Opta by Stats Perform" guid="a614b596-434a-48ab-a290-eca8b934661b" original-width="768" original-height="576" /][p]Of those players who took 50 or more corners last season, the Dutchman's 24.32% accuracy stands out well, even if his open play crossing accuracy (18.52%) could do with some work.[/p][p]94 ball recoveries and a 40.7% success rate with one-on-one duels are both acceptable for either metric, if not fantastic, and it's the all-round excellence in Reijnders' natural game which will mark him out as special at Forest.[/p][image alt="Tijjani Reijnders pass map - Premier League 2025/26" id="884a3270-d510-4d4b-bdf3-74771c2a2f8c" credit-line="Opta by Stats Perform" guid="4163a0fb-b0ca-4d2e-a504-102686fe804c" original-width="768" original-height="576" /][p]Although he's a different player from Anderson, he possesses the same fighting spirit and will to win, and is perfectly happy to shuttle from box-to-box and help out at both ends of the pitch.[/p][p]Glasner has shown during his time at Palace that he's perfectly capable of ironing out the rough edges when it comes to certain players, and there'll be nobody better to bring out the best in Reijnders.[/p][p]With the start of the Premier League season just around the corner, the quicker that Forest can get a deal over the line, the better.[/p][infobox id="8a8311c3-81b3-440e-8b49-36091db073d1" /]