/world sport
(CNN) -- Manchester City have swooped again to sign Dutch international midfielder Nigel De Jong from Hamburg for a fee believed to be in the region of £17 million ($23.4m), manager Mark Hughes' third major acquisition of the January transfer window.
De Jong becomes the third player to join Manchester City during the January transfer window.
De Jong has signed a four-and-a-half year contract with the mega-rich Premier League club, joining Wayne Bridge (Chelsea) and Craig Bellamy (West Ham) in moving to Eastlands this month, with more arrivals expected.
The 24-year-old De Jong joined Hamburg from Dutch giants Ajax exactly three years ago and made 66 appearances for the Bundeslia club, scoring twice.
However, De Jong's lack of prowess in front of goal will not bother Hughes, who was known to be in the market for a world-class holding midfielder to supplement the array of attacking talent already at his disposal.
That position looks to have been filled with the capture of De Jong, who has already been capped 29 times for his country, and now Hughes can continue looking for the midfield playmaker he is seeking following the collapse of his world-record bid for AC Milan superstar Kaka.
Although De Jong will not be eligible for the remainder of City's UEFA Cup campaign, as he has already played for Hamburg in the competition, he should be a major figure in the club's attempt to climb into a higher Premier League position.
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