Nigel De Jong

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Not for me. Another value signing.....and the thought of Rooney in midfield with him? feck me.
 
He's a dirty player, but we've lacked one since Keane. Carrick, Cleverley and Anderson don't ever tackle anyone. Indifferent towards de Jong. van Gaal will know what to do.
 
Sparky Rhiwabon said:
Surely "value" is a good thing not a bad thing???
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Not when we're significantly lacking some star quality in midfield. We don't need a destroyer - we need an all rounder. Bates knows his stuff so it's likely there is something in this which would mean we will not sign another midfielder and it will be strootman in January. Very very underwhelming.
 
CurryCantona said:
He's a dirty player, but we've lacked one since Keane. Carrick, Cleverley and Anderson don't ever tackle anyone. Indifferent towards de Jong. van Gaal will know what to do.
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He would certainly make our midfield a lot less 'nice' to play against. There are a number of midfielders I'd probably prefer, though whether they're attainable is another matter altogether. If we could get the right midfield partner in for him as well, I'm not completely against it.
 
I'm of the opinion we need two central midfielders. If buying De Jong on the cheap allowed us to spend big on a more attacking CM i'd be all for it. But if LvG disagrees with my opinion and feels we only need one CM, then buying De Jong just isn't the answer.
 
Globule said:
I'm of the opinion we need two central midfielders. If buying De Jong on the cheap allowed us to spend big on a more attacking CM i'd be all for it. But if LvG disagrees with my opinion and feels we only need one CM, then buying De Jong just isn't the answer.
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If de Jong signs then we won't buy another till January - which will be strootman
 
LonelyFire said:
Not when we're significantly lacking some star quality in midfield. We don't need a destroyer - we need an all rounder. Bates knows his stuff so it's likely there is something in this which would mean we will not sign another midfielder and it will be strootman in January. Very very underwhelming.
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If our midfield was Strootman and NDJ by January, with our attacking talent ahead of that base, playing in an LVG system I'd be bloody ecstatic.
 
He's actually a better at playing real football than some of you would think. He played for Mancini, who is a coward, so he became super focused on tough tackling and holding. Same story at AC Milan, it's what Italians expect from him. But Nigel is a pretty decent passer, he played really well for Van Gaal who expects him to play football too, good short passing, almost always forwards. Problem at the World Cup is that he has De Guzman next to him who failed to impress, so he needs to be a safety lock. If Strootman was fit you would see De Jong in a whole different light.

Don't know if this is a realistic transfer target or just a random rumour. 6 million would be a steal for someone who is a better passer and tackler than Cleverly, also with Fletcher not looking to be even at 75% last season. Wouldn't really mind getting him, better option than someone like Blind or Clasie for our midfield, but it's not ideal. Won't be celebrating, but I wouldn't mind if he signs either, the man literally goes through a wall if that means he'll win, and like I said, he is a way better passer than some people think, especially in combination with the LVG philosophy. He's really good buddies with RVP too.
 
A De Jong-Carrick midfield is as bad as a Fellaini-Carrick midfield. What happened to our big targets? I'll be really pissed if after all the fuss we go for Nigel fecking De Jong as our midfield saviour.
 
Globule said:
I'm of the opinion we need two central midfielders. If buying De Jong on the cheap allowed us to spend big on a more attacking CM i'd be all for it. But if LvG disagrees with my opinion and feels we only need one CM, then buying De Jong just isn't the answer.
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Maybe he plans to pair him with Carrick behind Mata, until January when we can get Strootman. De Jong and Strootman for the second half of the season should enable us to get fourth or third and maybe a deep cup run. In the summer of 2015 we will then be in a position to go in for more ambitious signings, having CL football to offer and entering the off season with an incumbent manager, meaning that we can indentiy and negotiate deals with certainty and clarity.
 
LonelyFire said:
If de Jong signs then we won't buy another till January - which will be strootman
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I think the media keep trotting out this line that Strootman will come in January. I've no doubt that he's van Gaal's priority midfield signing but it isn't as simple as that. If Roma are still in the hunt for cups or European qualification, they're not likely to sell in January unless they have a replacement signed up - which we all know is harder to do in the winter transfer window.

I still believe it might be next summer we get Strootman or if it looks like he might be fit in September, we'll take a calculated gamble and go for him at the end of August.
 
Juan't Mata said:
If our midfield was Strootman and NDJ by January, with our attacking talent ahead of that base, playing in an LVG system I'd be bloody ecstatic.
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Basing our plans on a player out with an extremely bad cruciate injury is....well, risky to say the least. What do we do till January?

Some will be happy but I wouldn't be.
 
Truedevil said:
A De Jong-Carrick midfield is as bad as a Fellaini-Carrick midfield. What happened to our big targets? I'll be really pissed if after all the fuss we go for Nigel fecking De Jong as our midfield saviour.
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De Jong > Fellaini.
De Jong would offer us a player who can genuinely disrupt attacks, win the ball back and feed it to the better players. Fellaini was asked to do that job at times last season but showed that he just wasn't up to the task. De Jong is a far better 'spoiler' than Fellaini, and Fellaini just isn't good enough to be an attacker for us. So really, Fellaini has no place in the squad, De Jong would. I'd certainly feel more confident going up against City at the Etihad with De Jong and Carrick rather than Fellaini and Carrick.

Saying that, it would be an underwhelming window if that was our sole midfield purchase.
 
Jesus Christ. If those kind of guys are what we will have to settle in the coming years then God help us
 
If we're to go 433 then I wouldn't mind this signing to be honest. In theory, if you could partner him alongside an Arturo Vidal you would have the hardest pair of midfielders in the league and a massive improvement on what we currently have. The midfield should sort itself this summer, it has to.
 
Juan't Mata said:
If our midfield was Strootman and NDJ by January, with our attacking talent ahead of that base, playing in an LVG system I'd be bloody ecstatic.
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Yes but waiting until January would be very risky.
 
He was a midfield of his own against the kangaroo feckers. For 6 million he's a good back-up plan if we fail to bring in a more long-term solution.
 
LonelyFire said:
Basing our plans on a player out with an extremely bad cruciate injury is....well, risky to say the least. What do we do till January?

Some will be happy but I wouldn't be.
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So you would rather base our plans on marquee players who do not want to come here ? I think everyone accepts that De Jong would be an underwhelming signing but there is no denying that he will improve, drastically, the defensive side of our midfield problems and the prices being touted are insignificant in the grand scheme of things whilst on the football side he would make us more solid. Signing him will buy us more time and allow the manager more time to identify players he would like to spend serious money on and assess them.
 
double standards galore over here...fellaini s no good cause he s a tug but it s a good thing having someone who simply kicks anything that moves around.
 
dev1l said:
very interesting indeed ....
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I think it's rubbish and there's nothing in it. Most of the papers seem to go in circles in hope something will stick as the leaks from the club has mostly stopped.
 
we cry about no defensive cover and no mobility from the likes of carrick and co. well this guy would bring that and allow the likes of Mata to dictate the tempo
 
dev1l said:
double standards galore over here...fellaini s no good cause he s a tug but it s a good thing having someone who simply kicks anything that moves around.
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The thing is, De Jong has the defensive capabilities to go along with his thuggery. He has a good footballing brain - he positions himself well, very strong in the tackle, he sweeps in front of the back line, whilst Fellaini is not the same player, and his thuggery is done furhter up the field, where it isn't really needed.
 
DWelbz19 said:
The thing is, De Jong has the defensive capabilities to go along with his thuggery. He has a good footballing brain - he positions himself well, very strong in the tackle, he sweeps in front of the back line, whilst Fellaini is not the same player, and his thuggery is done furhter up the field, where it isn't really needed.
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agree, fellaini has no positional sense
 
mufcwarm92 said:
I'm not against signing a pure DM but there are many better options around.
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Normally he wouldn't be my first choice signing, I would prefer Lars Bender, Gustavo and a few more before him but the figures being touted make him a risk free signing who would buy us time to identify, assess and make a move for a long term option. Carvalho is a good option but £37m for someone who boasts just one season in the Portuguese league is a lot more riskier, let him prove himself worthy of such a high fee first before plunging in.
 
Kag said:
If we're to go 433 then I wouldn't mind this signing to be honest. In theory, if you could partner him alongside an Arturo Vidal you would have the hardest pair of midfielders in the league and a massive improvement on what we currently have. The midfield should sort itself this summer, it has to.
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Yeah, I understand that LVG likes to have a balance of players in that midfield 3 : a DM, a box-to-box player and a creative mid.

De Jong would sort one of those three out straightaway.
 
Good player and I would happily take him if we were going for a midfield three. He plays with passion and despite his 'dirty' reputation, he is actually technically good.
 
Amar__ said:
I thought nothing can surprise me from latest newbies but they just keep on going. How much before someone suggests we should sign Tim Krul?
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He is a good defensive midfielder. You are far too harsh on him.
 
LonelyFire said:
Not when we're significantly lacking some star quality in midfield. We don't need a destroyer - we need an all rounder. Bates knows his stuff so it's likely there is something in this which would mean we will not sign another midfielder and it will be strootman in January. Very very underwhelming.
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Our lack of an all rounder doesn't mean that a player like De Jong wouldn't be useful.

Underrated at City doing the dirty work. At the right price a quality international, who the manager knows well and suits his system would be a decent bit of business for me.

If LVG wants him, I'd be happy with that.

He's technically decent and would add a bit of steel. We've been lightweight in midfield for years.
 
Silverman said:
He is a good defensive midfielder. You are far too harsh on him.
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He is average defensive midfielder, who is turning 30 in few months, released by City to end up in 7th side in Serie A, what's there to like?
 
It all depends on what Van Gaal's midfield plans are. I wouldn't mind him coming if he is accompanied by a quality box to box midfielder.
 
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