Manchester City ready to tie down Nigel de Jong with £25m contract – report

Nigel De Jong,Manchester City(Getty Images)

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Manchester City are said to be ready to offer midfielder Nigel de Jong an enticing new £25 million contract to keep him at the club for the rest of his career.

The Dutch international has been an ever-present for City in their attempt to finish in the Champions League places this season.

And although the 26-year-old is not even halfway through his four-and-a-half-year contract he signed in January 2009, City are keen to keep him well beyond the end of his current contract, and are ready to increase his wages to £120,000, according to the Manchester Evening News.

De Jong hasn’t played in almost a month since picking up an ankle injury against Birmingham in a 2-2 draw, and is also likely to miss the fifth round FA Cup tie against Aston Villa on Wednesday night, though boss Roberto Mancini is hopeful of a return at the weekend.

The Italian maintains that De Jong is an important first-team player, and is quoted as saying: “Nigel is a very important player for us.

“We don’t have another player like Nigel who can play in front of the defence and win back a lot of balls for us during the game.

“He’s important in the dressing room too, because he is a good guy, he has experience and he’s a leader. But I would prefer him to be back on the pitch.”