LA Galaxy: Dutch Midfielder Nigel de Jong Set to Join Galatasaray
Dutch international and LA Galaxy midfielder, Nigel de Jong, is reportedly set to join Turkish club Galatasaray in hopes of regaining his national team spot.
After recently joining the LA Galaxy in January, Nigel de Jong‘s time with the MLG club may already be over. The Dutch midfielder is set to join Galatasaray in Turkey as he heads back to Europe. He makes the move with hopes of regaining his spot back with the Netherlands National Team. (football-oranje.com)
Nigel has only made 18 appearances for the LA Galaxy since joining the team from AC Milan in the winter transfer window. He has been a key piece for Los Angeles this season as he has played and started in 18 of the teams 26 games. de Jong has yet to record a goal or an assist in MLS play.
The 31-year old midfielder has previously played for Ajax, Hamburger SV, Manchester City, and AC Milan before choosing to join the Galaxy and MLS. His short time in the Unites States’ top flight will be remembered with some late tackles, a red card, and underperforming for LA. The move to Turkey comes as a surprise as many expected for the Galaxy to keep their current squad for the rest of the season.
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The defensive minded midfielder has hopes of winning back his starting spot with the Dutch national team. He traveled to Turkey on August 29th to complete his move to Galatasaray. Nigel will be looking to impress Netherlands’ head coach Danny Blind during his time in Europe.
Update: de Jong is not in Istanbul. Still in LA but transfer talks to Galatasaray are ongoing.
de Jong still has plenty of game left in his career as he is only in his early 30’s. He has appeared in over 80 games for the Oranje with some World Cup caps to his name. He has lost his starting spot to younger players over the past few years. Nigel has not played for his national team since 2015.
While many will be glad to see de Jong leave the Galaxy and MLS, I don’t necessarily believe a move to Turkey will help him regain his starting spot. Galatasaray have won their first two games of the Turkish Süper Lig this season. Nigel’s recent performances haven’t been great but maybe he will be able to get back to form outside of Bruce Arena’s squad.
It is unclear what the transfer fee will be for de Jong but the Galaxy signed him to a one-year deal on a free transfer. Nigel was receiving $500,000 from LA this season as his salary. We will update the move when more news becomes available.