“It’s a bit difficult to convince players when they are already convinced,” Enzo Maresca said on Friday of Tijjani Reijnders’ prospective move to Al Qadsiah, only a year after joining Manchester City. “You need to change their thoughts, that is not always easy.”Maresca had revealed earlier in pre-season that James Trafford, who has signed for Leeds United, and Omar Marmoush, who could yet leave the club, had gone into the summer having already decided to leave the club, due to frustrations from the previous season.“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.”So how did it get to this? One of the key signings of last summer’s much-needed refresh is already on the way out, and as Maresca suggests with Marmoush, who signed 18 months ago, there are similar cases.There is plenty to like about Reijnders’ game — he arrived at City as Serie A’s player of the season, with his ability to carry the ball, dictate the game and score goals marking him out as somebody who could make a real impact on any team.City badly needed energy in midfield after an often disastrous 2024-25 season, during which they won just 11 of 35 games between October and March, and with Kevin De Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan leaving, Reijnders appeared to provide exactly the energy and creativity that would be needed.City have prioritised players who can beat a man with a dribble in the past few years, and Reijnders ticked that box, too. The idea with several of their signings last summer was to bring in players with the game-changing traits that would be needed in the Premier League, and that any weaknesses could be worked on.There were always some weaknesses with Reijnders, however, and those have proven to be relevant. It was evident even in his fine season in Italy that he offers very little defensively, not having the nous to spot where a second ball might drop, let alone challenge for it successfully.His 15 goals in all competitions the year before last represented by far his best goalscoring season – in fact, it was the only season in which he scored more than seven (that was in 2022-23, where his tally was boosted by three goals in Conference League qualifying). Take goals out of his game, coupled with his lack of defensive contribution, and you get a far less impressive player. He is also 28, suggesting he should have had a catalogue of impressive seasons behind him before he made the move.What were football transfers like before the transfer window?Tifo FootballBut another issue may have been that he did not have an obvious place in the City squad to show his full range of abilities. Pep Guardiola wanted to harness Reijnders’ goalscoring, playing him high up the pitch in the areas around Erling Haaland, in a similar way to how Gundogan would sniff out opportunities in the penalty area.“We knew he’s a special player arriving in the box,” Guardiola said last summer. “People in Italy know him perfectly. He can play as a holding midfielder but loves to arrive to the box to help strikers like Erling Haaland and Omar Marmoush.”