Manchester City are close to a deal for Hamburg midfielder Nigel de Jong.

The Daily Mail says the 24-year-old is valued at £15m and City manager Mark Hughes sees him as the club's future anchorman after failing in bids to sign Scott Parker from West Ham and Lassana Diarra (now at Real Madrid) from Portsmouth.

De Jong spent four years at Ajax before moving to Hamburg in the summer of 2006. He has played 30 times for Holland.

City have a good relationship with Hamburg and signed De Jong's midfield partner Vincent Kompany from the club last summer.