Manchester City

Manchester City and Barcelona have expressed an interest in Arsenal's 15-year-old English midfield prospect Max Dowman. (FootballTransfers, external)

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We asked for your views on Manchester City's prospective new midfield g Tijjani Reijnders from AC Milan.

Here are some of your comments:

David: Excellent piece of business. Looks like the title is coming home.

Mark: Brilliant g, should fit seamlessly into Pep's style of play. Perfect age and cheap price to pay for the quality he'll bring.

Gary: We have an amazing young midfielder in Divine Mukasa who needs to come into the first team. He has 42 goal involvements and I don't want him blocked off by any new gs.

James: Solid player, looks after the ball and can see a . Should do well working with Haaland! Good business.

Jonathon: Looks more like a squad player and his showreels are not that inspiring. If it was a movie trailer, you'd wait for it to hit TV. But let's hope.

Ian: His stats in a poor Milan side were impressive. In Pep we trust!

Geraint: Very good g but City still need to address the main issue, which is the departure of De Bruyne! To this end, City must capture Florian Wirtz at any cost.

Simon Stone
Chief football news reporter

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Manchester City have agreed a 55m euros (£46.3m) deal with AC Milan for Netherlands midfielder Tijjani Reijnders.

The 26-year-old will sign a five-year contract at Etihad Stadium after agreeing personal with City.

Capped 22 times for the Netherlands, Reijnders is the type of balanced midfielder City lacked last season.

The Dutchman scored 15 goals in 54 matches for Milan last term. It was the best goalscoring season of Reijnders' career, with the 26-year-old hitting double digits for the first time.

But the former AZ Alkmaar midfielder, who made his senior debut for PEC Zwolle in 2018, is far more than just goals.

Capable of playing deep or high in midfield, Reijnders' appeal to a coach like Pep Guardiola is clear.

The midfielder is capable of taking the ball in tight areas and is adept at beating the press either through his ing or ball-carrying.

With Rodri returning from injury towards the end of last season, Reijnders could either play alongside the Spaniard or in a more advanced role.

But the main benefit he will bring is giving Guardiola greater options in midfield.

What do you think of the deal? Let us know here

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After Manchester City having agreed a 55m euros deal with AC Milan to sign midfielder Tijjani Reijnders, we want your thoughts on the news.

The Netherlands international, 26, played in all but one of Milan's Serie A matches in 2024-25, scoring 10 goals and assisting another four.

The club finished a disappointing eighth, but Reijnders still managed to win the league's best midfielder award for his efforts.

So, what do you of this potential g? Will he be good fit for City's midfield or did you have your eyes on someone else?

Get in touch with your views here

Freddie Pye
Fan writer

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As you may expect, plenty of changes are required at Manchester City before Pep Guardiola and his coaching staff can really believe they can challenge for the biggest of honours across the game once again.

Highlighting the depth of those alterations was the January market, when City brought in four new players to lessen the work required during the now-ongoing summer window, when at least a further four names could be brought into the squad.

The opening days of the market have given Manchester City fans a clear idea as to where the club feels alterations are required, and perhaps the belief of ers would not differ too much from the plans put into place by sporting directors Hugo Viana and Txiki Begiristain.

There has long been a need for a new left-sided full-back, while over on the right the pending exit of Kyle Walker would identify that as another role that needs investment over the coming weeks.

An ageing roster in the middle of the park requires additional energy, and Kevin De Bruyne's confirmed exit - with Napoli expected to be his next destination - unveils the creative midfield role as an area to be addressed.

Beyond those four positions, much of the other required alterations will centre around departures from the squad as a new generation of this Manchester City side is on the verge of arriving, and it is largely anyone's guess just how many players could be allowed an exit during the off-season.

Ederson, Stefan Ortega Moreno, John Stones, Nathan Ake, Kyle Walker, Kalvin Phillips, Ilkay Gundogan, Bernardo Silva, Mateo Kovacic, Jack Grealish, James McAtee… the list could go on.

Find more from Freddie Pye at City Xtra, external

Nicola Pearson
BBC Sport journalist

As the dust settles on the 2024-25 Premier League season, we have been taking a look at some of the alternative ways the the table could have finished...

Football games are 90 minutes long. They have been for more than 150 years.

So, what if they weren't? What if only the first 45 minutes mattered?

Some teams like to lead from the front, come out the blocks flying and try and get the job done before half-time.

If that had been the case this season and it all came down to that first half showing, then it would not have been Liverpool lifting the trophy, but in fact Arsenal winning their first league title in over 20 years.

With 20 wins, 13 draws and five defeats, the Gunners were the kings of the first half.

Four points behind them were Manchester City - a team that has for so long been able to control games from start to finish, but during their difficult spell with injuries and results, this was something they seemed to lack.

If the league really came down to this metric, Brentford fans would be planning for a Champions League adventure. While the Bees were fast starters this campaign, being able to back that up across the 90 minutes was their Achilles heel (ranking 14th in the second half).

And what about this year's Premier League champions? Arsenal may have had the number when it came to first halves, but Liverpool well and truly led the way in the second...

What if the season was all about the second 45 minutes?

While some prefer to get their nose in front, others prefer a half-time reset or back themselves to get the job done later in the game.

One of those teams was Arne Slot's Reds.

They won 24 of their 38 second-halves, drew nine and lost just five. If it was this 45 minutes alone that counted, they would have had 81 points and - just like in the actual season - been runaway winners.

Another club that enjoyed success after half time was Chelsea.

Ranking seventh in the first-half table, the Blues were often in a position where they needed to turn things around or dig out a result in the second 45 and, despite the young age of the team, managed 17 wins in second halves.

A side deserving an honourable mention here is Crystal Palace.

They may have finished 12th in the 2024-25 league table after a underwhelming start, but when it came to getting a result in the second half, with 16 wins,12 draws and 10 defeats, they were up there alongside some of the best in the league.

*Table data from Football365

Manchester City are close to agreeing a deal for AC Milan and Netherlands midfielder Tijjani Reijnders, 26, in time for the Fifa Club World Cup which starts on 14 June in the United States. (Football Italia), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Tuesday's full gossip column

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BBC Sport pundit Nedum Onuoha has given us his insight and opinion every fortnight on your Premier League club throughout this season.

But this week, he's in the hotseat for your questions.

Maybe ask him who should be on your club's radar this summer, or where a rumoured target or new g might fit into the team.

Perhaps see what he thinks about how successful a new recruit might be, who it is vital to keep, or what is needed to make next season a success.

Send in your questions here and we'll put a selection to him

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Manchester City target Rayan Ait-Nouri has been described as the "perfect fit" for Pep Guardiola's side by one of his former coaches at Wolves.

Edu Rubio, who worked with Ait-Nouri during the 2022-23 season, said: "His technical competency, his ability and skill in tight areas - keeping the ball close to his feet - give him the opportunity to fit perfectly into Guardiola's possession-based play.

"He can also dribble with speed to get the team up the pitch, driving with the ball, which is probably what Manchester City need right now - players who can break lines.

"Defensively, he has improved his game since his arrival in the Premier League and his one-v-one defending is of a very good standard. He can cope physically and is a very versatile player who can operate in any position down the flank, or by playing as an inverted full-back.

"He needs to improve his decision-making on the ball. He can take one touch too many at times and slow the ball speed down in a possession game that Pep loves. He also needs to work on his end product in attack.

"At a club like City, he will need to get his assist ratio higher, but it is something he can definitely do."

Steve Sutcliffe
BBC Sport journalist

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The cloud hanging over Manchester City is in the shape of 115 charges of alleged Premier League financial rule breaches.

The outcome could result in a fine, a transfer embargo, a wage cap or a points deduction - although the club remain confident they will be fully exonerated.

"City could spend a further £200m this summer unless there is a negative result to the charges," said football finance expert Kieran Maguire.

"With Kevin de Bruyne's salary coming off payroll in 2025-26 the club have plenty of leeway to invest."

Read more about the early transfer window and what each Premier League club can spend this summer

As the dust settles on the 2024-25 Premier League season, we have been taking a look at some of the alternative ways the the table could have finished...

Many of us will have been there in school.

It was not always about being the best, but about being better. Not trying to beat the others' scores or times, but about beating your own.

In sport too, it is why personal bests exist. It is a way of measuring your own improvement against what has gone before - we can't all be Usain Bolt and Florence Griffith-Joyner.

So if the Premier League season was all about how you compared to the campaign before, who would have come out on top?

Well, there is one clear winner.

With 29 points more than they had in 2023-24, Nottingham Forest would have been lifting that trophy.

They may not have finished the season quite as they hoped having spent so much time in the Champions League spots, but having narrowly avoided relegation a year ago, this shows the sheer scale of the improvement this term.

Their nearest challenger on this basis would have been Brentford.

With 56 points, they were three points short of their best ever Premier League tally, but having flirted with relegation last time out, it made for a more enjoyable season this time around.

Brighton, Bournemouth and Fulham may have just missed out on European adventures in the real league, but they are also teams who can be happy with the improvements they are showing as now well-established top-flight sides.

And despite the chaotic nature of Chelsea since the new ownership came in, they too can look to steady progress.

At the other end of the scale (or table), it is a very different picture.

Many question whether the traditional 'big six' teams is still relevant, given how others have broken that mould in recent years.

But if the season was based on improvement, four of those six would have been at the bottom.

Tottenham dropped-off in the league nearly as much as Forest improved. Manchester City had a high bar to reach, but a torrid spell proved costly. Manchester United have set multiple unwanted club records, while Arsenal struggled to maintain a real challenge for the title.

They say beware the wounded tiger, and it is hard to see all these sides having the same difficulties next season, but they will not have it all their own way with those teams that are on the up.

*All data from Opta and only teams who were in the league in 2023-24

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Manchester City midfielder Mateo Kovacic has had an operation on an Achilles injury.

The Croatia international, who missed the FA Cup final because of injury, will not travel for the Club World Cup in the United States.

The club said: "Mateo will spend the summer rehabilitating from the operation and everyone at the club wishes him a speedy recovery."

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We asked for you to tell us what Manchester City need to do in the summer transfer window.

Here are some of your comments:

Ravi: City need to attack and always play to the front. If they lose the ball then need to get the ball back as soon as possible. They are superb when playing like that. Just need to try to get one or two really fast runners who can cross well, defend well and attack also with quick speed. City play with one person short when Halaand is out of form. So we need to remove/substitute him if he does not score every one or two games.

David: There's a lot of work to tweak the City squad this summer but I think fans will be disappointed by the 'overhaul' that was expected. It seems like Reijnders and Gibbs-White will both get done, and then we really need a pair of full-backs, possibly Wesley from Flamengo and Ait-Nouri. We are crying out for width so Foden and Marmoush can play inside slightly more. I cannot see Cherki happening. He's not needed, he's not a Pep player and we're already blessed with attacking options. Let's fix the ageing midfield and lack of recognisable full-backs first!

Sharif: So many are on about wholesale changes at City over the summer. I realise one or two new players will probably come in, and that's fine, but a big rebuild is unnecessary. We have to look at the reasons for the poor season. Yes, we weren't tactically perfect but more than that was the physical and mental burnout caused by four title wins on the bounce. We'll be more than competitive come August, regardless of any new recruitment. I'm well looking forward to seeing the lads back at their best after a summer off.

Hemingford: City need two full backs, a creative attacking midfielder and a right-sided attacker. The league is ours again if we strengthen well in these areas.

Joseph: I think they need a proper De Bruyne replacement along with real full-backs so they could shift Gvardiol into CB and because Rico Lewis is still developing. To replace Kevin they should really push for Wirtz despite the high price tag and, if looking for a cheaper alternative, they could look at Ryan Cherki. At left-back they could try Cambiaso from Juventus or a young 'wonderkid' in Balde from Barcelona. On the right, I would recommend Nordi Mukiele from PSG (currently on loan at Bayern Leverkusen) as a slightly more experienced player to give Lewis a rest and mentor Rico into a better player than he already is, And lastly, as a different option from Mukiele, they could try Killian Sidillia from Freiburg as a young French right-back who could back up Rico very well.