Does Manchester City's Midfield Need Daniele De Rossi?

According to the Daily Mail, Manchester City are keen on signing Roma star Daniele De Rossi in the January transfer window for £8 million.

The Italian international has yet to sign a contract extension with his club, and Manchester City are hoping to capitalize on the uncertainty regarding his future with the club by buying the Italian on a cut-price deal.

Reportedly, Roberto Mancini was keen on buying the player in the summer, but after the huge sums paid for Samir Nasri and Sergio Aguero, the team simply could not afford to buy the Italian as well, with financial fair play rules coming into effect soon.

This, however, did not prevent Mancini from making his interest in De Rossi known. Indeed, when asked about the battling midfielder, Mancini said:

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"De Rossi would be absolutely perfect. I rate him one of the best midfielders in the world."

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Coupled with the fact that Mancini strongly believes Manchester City lack depth in midfield, Mancini's interest in De Rossi makes sense.

Or does it?

First, we must deal with the myth that Daniele De Rossi could be signed for only £8 million. Getting an Italian international and one of the best defensive midfielders in the world at that price would render this debate useless—his purchase would be a no-brainer regardless of whether Manchester City's midfield actually need him or not.

So, let's tackle that issue first.

In the summer, Roma put a price tag of £25 million on the Italian midfielder. While it's unlikely that Manchester City would be forced to pay that full sum on a 28-year-old with only half a season left to run on his contract, it's ridiculous to expect they could haggle the price all the way down to £8 million for Roma's best youth product in the last decade.

Additionally, should De Rossi become available, it's highly unlikely that Manchester City will be his only suitors.

Real Madrid's Jose Mourinho has been an admirer of the Italian midfielder for some time and, as I discussed here, he would be the perfect complement to Xabi Alonso in midfield. Thus, if Manchester City decide to pursue the midfielder, expect Real Madrid to put in a bid or two, at the very least, and raise the price of the Italian.

Finally, even if Manchester City do get a cut-price deal on Daniele De Rossi with regards to his transfer fee, he is still demanding astronomical wages of £170,000 per week, which surely would add some serious weight to an already heavy wage bill at Manchester City.

Now that all that is out of the way, and we understand that acquiring Daniele De Rossi would be no cheap, cut-price affair, we can weigh up the necessity of acquiring Daniele De Rossi. The first question that must be asked is whether or not Manchester City's midfield is actually in need of the depth that De Rossi would provide.

At central defensive midfielder, the position Daniele De Rossi has played his entire career, Manchester City presently have Gareth Barry, Nigel De Jong, Yaya Toure and Owen Hargreaves. James Milner, as the utility player for the squad, is also capable of playing at defensive midfielder.

With four true defensive midfielders for the usual two defensive midfielder spots, the depth at Manchester City is—admittedly—not great, but solid.

Still, is De Rossi the guy that should be acquired to add depth to the squad?

Usually when you talk about a depth signing, you're thinking about a young midfielder below the age of 23 who can develop at the club, pick up games when injuries pile up and replace the older guys when they retire.

Alternatively, a depth signing can be someone like Patrick Viera or Owen Hargreaves, a guy who's at the end of his career, but still possesses the experience to fill in for the team when needed.

De Rossi fits neither of these categories. At 28 years old, De Rossi is a seasoned Italian international who should be in the prime of his career. He has plenty of experience, but still carries the expectation of getting a regular amount of games.

So, if De Rossi isn't a depth signing, does he add something to Manchester City's midfield that would justify him starting regularly?

Strangely, no, he doesn't.

Whereas Real Madrid lack tenacious, battling midfielders like De Rossi, Manchester City have them in good supply. Nigel De Jong and Yaya Toure are both midfielders who are not afraid to get physical and use their strength to win the ball. Owen Hargreaves, if he can remain fit, can return to that level as well.

Ultimately, I cannot say with full certainty that De Rossi would not be a good addition to the Manchester City midfield. It would depend largely on what price he could be acquired for and how well guys like Owen Hargreaves and James Milner perform throughout the season.

All I can say is that while De Rossi's signing may benefit Manchester City, it will certainly be more of a luxury signing than a necessity signing, as, on paper, Manchester City should already have a strong enough squad to contend for the title.

What do you think? Share your opinions below and don't forget to vote in the poll!