Tijjani Reijnders has admitted that being at AC Milan still feels like a dream for him, and he revealed some ambitious aims that he harbours.
Having signed in the summer from AZ Alkmaar to help rebuild a midfield that needed reconstructing following the sale of Sandro Tonali and the long-term injury to Ismael Bennacer, Reijnders has quickly entered the hearts of the fans.
He has dazzled with three impressive performances in Serie A so far, even getting an assist on his debut in the win against Bologna, playing on the left side of a midfield three completed by Rade Krunic and Ruben Loftus-Cheek.
In short, it didn’t take Reijnders a short time to adapt to life at Milan and he spoke to the Dutch source NOS to recap how his first few weeks have been, with his comments relayed by Calciomercato.com.
“When I look around and see where we can live with our family… it’s fantastic. Milan is a metropolis, there are many good restaurants. And I play in one of the biggest clubs in the world. It’s true, here they eat a lot of pasta. I see myself playing at Milan for many years to come,” he said.
“How many times have I pinched myself to understand if it was a dream? Sometimes at first. But it’s very strange: you get used to it very quickly. At first it was absurd. I said to myself look where you play now and how beautiful it is.
“At Milan there is a team of seven people who are ready for all the players. They help find housing and things like that. This takes away a lot of worries, so you can focus on football. Furthermore, the team was very kind. They also help me on a tactical level and with translation from Italian to English.”
Reijnders joins a long list of illustrious players hailing from the Netherlands who have worn the red and black, such as Marco van Basten, Frank Rijkaard, Ruud Gullit, Jaap Stam and Clarence Seedorf.
“If you demonstrate your qualities, you will be taken seriously. When I am in the gym, I see the Hall of Fame. There you also see Gullit and Van Basten with the Ballon d’Ors.
“Here at Milan they are very happy to have a Dutch player. They call me ‘Power Reijnders’, how funny, like the Power Rangers. Here they invent everything.
“Even though the season has just started, we are on the right path. I really want to win the Scudetto. I haven’t won any trophies in my life, I want the first to be in this beautiful club.”
