Good analysis, however, I can't agree with your conclusion.
It's based on the premise that De Jong covers out wide more effectively than Yaya, and I think that is highly debatable.
My biggest criticisms of De Jong's defensive game lie on his lack of awareness, he rarely tracks runs behind an exposed fullback and he favours remaining overtly central at all times. Too often he remains stationary and rigid in his central DM position while a threat develops around him. He simply doesn't possess Barry's intelligence nor his experience, so I feel that comparison is moot.
And once you consider De Jong's limitations in possession, and his detrimental impact on our ability to build momentum going forward I think the case for him starting in DM instead of Yaya and at the expense of Nasri, Tevez or Silva is a pretty unsubstantial one.
In an ideal world we'd have signed someone like De Rossi last summer or in January, in essence I simply don't rate De Jong particularly highly, and I think there are more cons than pros in introducing him to the side, especially on Monday night when the worst possible thing we could do would be to sit back and invite the rags onto us.
