New Manchester City Midfielder, Nigel De Jong Factfile

Comfortable playing both defensive and holding midfielder, with bags of talent. Born 30th November 1984.

A Netherlands international, De Jong has become an important part of Marco Van Basten's Dutch national team.

De Jong, fresh from the Ajax Academy, made his debut for AFC Ajax on the 19th of October 2002 and went on to score eight goals in 96 appearances—which is pretty good going for a defensive minded midfield player.

De Jong is right-footed and can play in both defence and midfield, standing at 5'9" he's not the tallest of players but he certainly makes up for it with his fast paced intelligence on and off the ball.

De Jong can wrong foot a player at will without even thinking, he seems to make it look so easy that it's like watching a stone glide across a lake without even disturbing the surface.

Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Juventus have all expressed interest in the holding midfielder in the past and since 2004 he has been capped 30 times for the Netherlands senior side.

On January 2006 De Jong signed for German outfit Hamburger SV for £1 million and made 66 appearances scoring two goals, and also has played a part in the UEFA Cup with the German club.

De Jong runs a huge car dealership in Europe and the Middle East with clients of all different backgrounds from Sheiks to footballers, so he also has a great talent in the world of business.

De Jong is strong despite his height and can hustle the best of players off the ball so don't be easily fooled.

Combative and bags of street football skill, I tip De Jong to take City to the next level. Unsurprisingly, Vincent Kompany and De Jong are no strangers—good friends and once partners on the field of play, this is going to be one reunion that hopefully works out well for City.

De Jong Video