Enzo Maresca has said everybody is in agreement that the best decision for Tijjani Reijnders is to leave Manchester City after just one year. The Dutch international only joined the club last summer but has already got an exit lined up.
Saudi club Al Qadsiah have agreed to buy the midfielder for £52m, with a deal expected to be completed soon. Reijnders was with the squad in Manchester on Thursday but took no part in a training session played out in front of fans at the City Football Academy.
Player decided to leave before Maresca arrived
Reijnders was used by Maresca in three pre-season friendlies in Asia, but the new coach indicated on Friday that the player had already decided to leave before the Italian arrived after a frustrating year with Pep Guardiola. With that being accepted, the club have worked to find Reijnders a move elsewhere.
"They all work every day, they all do sessions every day and at the end of the week they all want to play a game," Maresca said. "When they don’t play, they struggle to understand or they struggle to see the reason why and I can understand that after one season some of them would like to play a little bit more. It’s a normal situation.
Club, player and manager in agreement
"It’s a bit difficult to convince players when they are already convinced. You need to change their thoughts, that is not always easy. Tijjani’s situation is like James Trafford’s situation, some more players, but I think when the club, the player, the manager, they all think the same way, that probably the best decision for a player is to go, you have to go."
Maresca raised doubts over the future of Omar Marmoush last week while the club cited illness as a reason for Savinho missing training this week as he looks to secure a move to Tottenham. It is set to be a hectic final few weeks of the transfer window with the Blues intent on replacing any player who leaves.
