Tough-tackling Manchester City midfielder Nigel de Jong has ended his three year tenure at the Etihad Stadium by joining Serie A side AC Milan, according to The Daily Mail.
The fee for the Dutchman is thought to be in the region of £3.5 million. City boss Roberto Mancini accepted that he felt that de Jong needed to gain some regular first-team football: “I am sorry because Nigel was an important player for us but if he is happy, I am happy for him. I am sure he will do really well in the Italian championship.”
De Jong, who joined Manchester City from Hamburg in 2009, expressed his delight at joining one of the biggest clubs in the world, “Milan will be competitive – both in Italy and in Europe. It is a fascinating club with a great history. After having experienced the Manchester derby, I will now get to experience the Milan derby.”
De Jong had made an impressive start to his Manchester City career and became renowned in the Premier League for his hard, dismissive style of play, becoming labelled as “the lawnmower” by his adoring fans.
However, in the last couple of seasons de Jong has fallen out of favour with manager Mancini and has often been limited to appearances from the substitute’s bench of late. As a result de Jong has made just 37 Premier League appearances in the last two seasons for City.
De Jong is expected to go straight into the Milan side for their away trip to Bologna tomorrow night.
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