Tijjani Reijnders Dominates in Saudi Roshn League

Tijjani Reijnders is wasting no time justifying the price tag.

The Netherlands midfielder, already the most expensive signing in Al-Qadsiah’s history, delivered a statement performance in the Saudi Roshn League on Tuesday night, driving his new club past Al-Ahli at Prince Mohammed bin Fahd Stadium in Dammam.

He didn’t ease his way into the contest. He tore into it.

Fourteen minutes in, Reijnders picked up the ball on the edge of the penalty area and unleashed a fierce, rising drive that flew beyond Édouard Mendy. One touch to set, one swing of the right boot, and the Senegalese goalkeeper had no chance. It was the kind of strike that silences any early-season doubts in an instant.

Al-Qadsiah rode that surge of confidence. They pressed, they harried, they played like a side sensing vulnerability. The pressure told again right at the end of the half.

Deep into first-half stoppage time, with Al-Ahli reeling, Mohammed Abu Al-Shamat found space wide and whipped in a teasing cross. Reijnders had timed his run perfectly. He attacked the ball, climbed above his marker, and buried a firm header for Al-Qadsiah’s third. One thunderbolt, one poacher’s finish. Same player, two very different goals, both ruthless.

That brace took his tally to three in Al-Qadsiah colours, all in the Roshn League, and underlined how quickly he has settled since arriving from Manchester City last summer. His first goal for the club had already arrived in just his second appearance, in a controlled 2-0 victory over Neom in the third round.

Those numbers already shade his early days in England. For Manchester City last season, he needed four matches to reach a single goal, scoring against Wolverhampton on the Premier League’s opening weekend but then cooling off. In Saudi Arabia, the curve is steeper, sharper, and far more ominous for opposing defences.

The context matters. Al-Qadsiah paid a reported 61 million euros to prise him from City, a fee that smashed their previous transfer records and raised expectations to uncomfortable levels. You do not arrive as the costliest player in a club’s history without carrying the weight of a project on your shoulders.

So far, he is carrying it well.

Reijnders is not just adding goals; he is shaping games, dictating tempo, and stepping into the role the club clearly envisioned when they pushed their finances to the limit. A long-range rocket, a stoppage-time header, and a growing influence in midfield — all of it points to a player finding his stage.

If this is only the beginning, the Roshn League may have to get used to seeing his name on the scoresheet.