Manchester City midfielder Nigel de Jong faces the uncomfortable prospect of being sold this summer after failing to agree a new contract at the Etihad Stadium.

Dutch international De Jong was one of City's key players last season but turned down a contract worth in excess of £100,000-a-week in the summer.

Now De Jong finds himself on the fringes of manager Roberto Mancini's plans and it is understood City will listen to offers at the end of the season if the 27-year-old has not managed to extend a contract that will only have 12 months left by then.

De Jong is a firm favourite with City supporters but undoubtedly his stock has fallen at the club over the last six months as players like Yaya Toure, Gareth Barry and James Milner have moved ahead of him.

City remain open about negotiating with De Jong but there are currently no plans for more talks with his agent Rodger Linse.

With Mancini now aware that players must be moved out before any major signings can arrive, De Jong could be sacrificed to make way for midfield targets. He will not be sold in the January transfer window.

However, it was telling that with Toure away at the Africa Cup of Nations and Owen Hargreaves short of fitness, De Jong still failed to make Mancini's starting line-up for the recent Barclays Premier League win at Wigan.

He has only made eight starts in the Premier League this season and there is a feeling that he may have missed the boat in turning down what City thought was a generous offer last summer.