Reports suggest that Manchester City overspent on new signing Nigel de Jong by as much as £17m.

City completed the signing of the Netherlands international yesterday, paying in the region of £19m. Yet reports today suggest that if the Eastlands club had waited until the end of the season, they could have secured his services for £2.3m.

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It is believed that the midfielder had a release clause inserted into his Hamburg contract, allowing him to leave in the summer for a cut-price fee.

It is unknown whether City chiefs knew about the small print, or if they wanted to carry on regardless in order to sufficiently bolster their squad so that they are not sucked into a relegation battle.

De Jong is expected to meet up with his new team-mates in Tenerife, as the Manchester City players are put through their paces at a winter training camp. He could make his debut next Wednesday against Newcastle.

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