Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini has hinted Nigel de Jong is a required player for next season.

De Jong faced being squeezed out at City in the summer, but is now a first-choice for Mancini.

"Usually we only talk about Aguero, because he scores, Balotelli, because of his girlfriend. But we should think sometimes about the other players because they are important. We need players like Zaba [Pablo Zabaleta], Micah [Richards], Nigel de Jong, Joleon Lescott.

"Just now, City have a high profile in the world. Maybe we need another two years, but this is normal because you can't change history in two or three years. It needs to be for five, six or 10 years. If we continue to work like this then we can improve our profile," said the manager.