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This article started to take shape early in October, as Nigel DeJong had begun to put in some very solid performances, against Arsenal, against Manyoo, against Liverpool, he showed us the quality that caught the eye of City and led to his acquisition. What an acquisition, what a revelation!

“The Premier League suits my style because it is so competitive. I used to be a much more attacking player but now I enjoy my more defensive role.”

From this site in January this year;

De Jong - It's not about the money!

You might as well confess you knew very lttle about the player until we bought him, so I've been trawling the internet on your behalf, and came up with an interesting snippet of information. Not only is he a very talented player, he also runs a massive car dealership with customers in the middle east as well as Europe. Oil Sheiks as well as top world players number among his clients, and for a boy brought up on a council estate by his Mum on benefits, he has obvious entrepreneurial talents.

"Some people say footballers are thick! When I see that a company has potential, I move the borders and go all the way for it."

Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus have all expressed interest in the holding midfielder, and thirty caps to his credit has ensured Nigel is a superstar in Holland. An unfortunate knee injury sustained in an international game early in the season has seen him sidelined so far, but apparently he has made a full recovery.

He joined Hamburg from Ajax for £1million in 2006 and has become a key figure at the heart of Marco van Basten's Holland team.

"Everybody knows that I want to play for a big club eventually, I count City in that category."

Of course, last season's bid for a Europa league spot failed, the side at the time were suffering the agonies of inconsistency which are gradually being reduced and which prompted Nigel to give a rare interview in April;

"Nigel de Jong has assured Blues fans that the players are hurting just as much as their supporters over the 3-1 home defeat by Fulham that dealt a huge blow to Mark Hughes' bid to snatch seventh spot in the Premier League. "We tried to do our best but in the second half it all went wrong. I'm gutted, we all are - two wins in a row and you can be seventh, so it's tough when you lose that kind of game at home.

"That's football, but it still hurts. You put every effort into the game, so of course it hurts - we don't set out to lose on purpose, nobody does, and we need to repay the fans by showing our true quality now".

Nigel has been as good as his word, improving this season and maturing into arguably one of the best holding midfielders in the league. He captained the side during Kolo's absence and has patrolled the midfield during Vincent Kompany's recovery with an assurance and tenacity that has endeared him to the fans. This next quote is shamelessly stolen from skybluenews.com last week, who named Nigel their 'City Player of the Month', a fully deserved accolade from the fans in the forums, where no player gets an easy ride.

The tenacious midfielder was a constant rock in an undermanned midfield, hardly putting a foot wrong over the entire month. He did a fine job captaining the side in the absence of Toure, leading by example on the pitch. The only negative aspect of his performances over the month occurred when he gave away a dubious penalty away at Birmingham, fortunately Given was in place to save his blushes with a fine save from the resulting spot kick. A solid string of performances from the Dutchman convinced us to name him our Player of the Month.

Final word goes to a fan, responding to City's win over Chavski;

Brian Blue

"Well done City and MH, be proud of that performance. De Jong rightly chosen man of match, superb display and blotted out Lampard and Essien. You could almost read their thoughts "where has he come from?""

He was sent from heaven, Brian, from heaven.
CLEVBLUE