Galaxy Sign De Jong
- Updated: January 31, 2016
Late Saturday evening after the Los Angeles Galaxy completed their preseason opener win over FC Shirak 2-1, the Galaxy signed former AC Milan midfielder Nigel De Jong. De Jong (31) looks poised to fill the central defensive midfielder role that was left vacant after the transfer of Juninho.
What looks to be another savvy signing by Galaxy manager Bruce Arena, De Jong is a physical midfielder who potentially could add a mean streak to the club’s defense. Out of all the signing made by Arena and the Galaxy this offseason, this one appears to be the most significant.
No financials have been released yet in regards to this signing but LA Times writer Kevin Baxter has at the very least identified a range on how much the club may have spent.
#LAGalaxy complete deal for Nigel de Jong. Contract reportedly less than $1 million. Formal announcement expected this week
— Kevin Baxter (@kbaxter11) January 31, 2016
De Jong’s career accolades include playing in a World Cup final in 2010 with the Dutch national team and starting for world-renowned clubs such as Manchester City, Ajax and Milan.
De Jong’s style of play seems as though it will be very complimentary to Steven Gerrard in the midfield. Gerrard is much more comfortable with a defender beside him as this allows him to focus more on moving the ball up the pitch rather than having to worry about helping the club as much defensively. Gerrard’s well known struggles in year one hopefully will be behind him, and a signing like this one will certainly help.
This likely is the last major signing we will see from the Galaxy this offseason as the club looks to be stacked with depth at nearly every position.
The next game for the Los Angeles will be against former midfielder Juninho and his new club Tijuana on February 9th at 7 PM PST.
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