Contract Hiatus Clouds Nigel De Jong’s Manchester City Future

Manchester City could sell Nigel de Jong in the summer, according to the Daily Mail.

The aforementioned source intimates the tough tackling central-midfielder has rejected Manchester City's contract offer, believed to be in excess of £100,000 a week, and as a result the hugely popular Holland international could be jettisoned at the end of the season.

Despite enjoying a cult-status amongst the Etihad faithful, De Jong has become an increasingly peripheral figure in regards to Roberto Mancini's starting XI over the last six months.

The form and influence of Gareth Barry and James Milner has exasperated De Jong's efforts to be consistently reinstated to the Manchester City first choice 11 and the Mail suggests the club must now decide their next move in regards to De Jong's, as of yet, unsigned contract.

The industrious Manchester City star has 12-months left on his current deal at the end of the season, and although his stock at Eastlands has inevitably dwindled recently, the club's cash-rich owners are more than aware of the Holland international's pedigree and are reluctant to lose one of their high-profile players for less than his market value.

The report claims Manchester City would ideally like to keep De Jong and are open to the prospect of concluding a deal, even if no more talks are scheduled at the moment. However, there is reportedly a perception within the club that De Jong was poorly advised during the summer, when he allegedly rejected City's offer of a lucrative extension.

The departure of Yaya Toure for the Africa Cup of Nations would suggest De Jong would be afforded more playing time this month, yet the 27-year-old was a substitute during Manchester City's keenly fought 1-0 victory against Wigan, and he has started just eight Premier League games all season.

Should Manchester City reject De Jong's alleged demands the midfielder is likely to have plenty of suitors given his importance for the national side and his Premier League form since Mark Hughes signed him in January 2009.

The former Ajax and Hamburg midfielder has been a mainstay of Manchester City's meteoric revival over the last few seasons and has in the past been linked with moves to Inter Milan and Real Madrid.

De Jong's efforts to pin down a perpetual starting berth were hindered by a nagging foot injury at the beginning of the season, but The Guardian suggest the Manchester City star's possible availability has alerted a number of Premier League club's, most notably QPR.