These are Manchester City’s top 3 January signings

Nigel de Jong

Another one of Mark Hughes’ better signings was Nigel de Jong, who moved to Manchester City from Hamburg back in January 2009.

And it turned out to be a very shrewd purchase from Hughes, as the Dutch international went on to make 137 appearances for City over a three-year spell at the Etihad, winning the Premier League title in 2012, and the FA Cup the year before.

De Jong was a hard-hitting, battling central midfielder who got around the pitch well and wasn’t afraid to stick a foot in, and it almost came back to bite him when he somehow didn’t get sent off in the 2010 World Cup final for kicking Xabi Alonso in the chest.

Since he left City in 2012, the 32-year-old spent four years at AC Milan before a short spell at LA Galaxy, only to return to Europe with Turkish giants Galatasaray last summer.