West Ham United have submitted an enquiry for AZ Alkmaar star Tijjani Reijnders in the hope of bringing him to the Premier League, according to reports.
Who is Tijjani Reijnders?
Reijnders is naturally a central midfielder who currently plies his trade at the AFAS Stadium having joined the U21s there from PEC Zwolle back in 2017 before getting promoted to the first team the following year, as per Transfermarkt, where he’s since gone on to become a regular feature.
In the Eredivisie, the Dutchman started all 34 games under Pascal Jansen last season and established himself as his side’s third overall best-performing player with a WhoScored match rating of 7.26, and David Moyes has already had the chance to assess him live in action.
During the Europa Conference League, the Irons had to face the 24-year-old’s side and will know exactly what he’s capable of having put a goal past Lukasz Fabianski, something which has tempted the boss into trying to entice him to E20.
Are West Ham signing Reijnders?
According to Sport Italia (via Sport Witness), West Ham have made an "in-depth" enquiry to discover the availability of Reijnders in the "past few days" ahead of the 2023/24 campaign. AC Milan and other unnamed clubs are also believed to have "expressed their interest" in AZ Alkmaar's prized asset, but at this stage, there's no indication as to how much it would cost to secure his services.
Should Moyes consider a bid for Reijnders?
Whilst Reijnders is a central midfielder, West Ham will know that he is much stronger in the attacking aspect of his game, and having been dubbed “unplayable” by journalist Josh Bunting, Moyes and the hierarchy should definitely consider tabling an opening offer.
The ESA & GFM client, who earns £8k-per-week, racked up 11 goal contributions (eight assists and three goals) in 34 Eredivisie appearances last season, with this form seeing him collect three man-of-the-match awards, but he’s also a creative threat away from the net.
Reijnders, who has the versatility to operate in seven various positions, including everywhere across the centre and out wide on both wings, ranked in the 96th percentile for progressive carries so loves to push up the pitch but was also calm and composed in possession with an 88.8% pass success rate which was higher than any Irons player, therefore he would be an upgrade on the boss’ current options at the London Stadium.
