Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nayhan may be ready to bankroll another busy summer of transfer activity at the Etihad Stadium, but one man who looks likely to stay is Samir Nasri. Up to seven players are being tipped to depart the club this summer as boss Roberto Mancini prepares to overhaul his squad after they relinquished the Premier League title to rivals Manchester United this season.
Kolo Toure has already been told he can leave on a free, while Maicon, Joleon Lescott, Scott Sinclair and Edin Dzeko could also be sacrificed. Nasri is another who was thought to be fighting for his future after a frustrated Mancini recently admitted he wanted to "punch" the Frenchman due to his indifferent form this campaign.
Paris Saint-Germain have been credited with an interest in the 25-year-old after sporting director Leonardo spoke of his determination to bring more French players to the Parc des Princes this summer. After enjoying a fine debut season in the sky blue jersey, Nasri's level of performances this season have dropped considerably, much to the dismay of City fans.
However, an upturn in form in recent weeks since Mancini delivered his very public barb looks set to save Nasri from the chop with assistant boss David Platt under no illusions the club possess a genuine match-winner on his day. “Since he has been here, Samir has blown hot and cold,” Platt told the Manchester Evening News. “When he has been hot he has been absolutely roasting – he has been a tremendous player. “Every player can have his good games and bad games. Samir is an exceptional player, and you don’t expect anything different from him. “There have been times when people have been critical of him when I don’t think he has had a bad game. He is a very important player for us.” Former City midfielder Patrick Vieira, now Football Development Executive at the club, is a big fan of his fellow Frenchman and has backed him to rediscover the form that saw him seal a £24million switch in 2011. “Samir could do much more,” said Vieira.
“On a personal level, he is very disappointed with the level he reached this season, for various reasons. “But he remains an important player in our squad and has learned a lot from this past year. This season has been very important to him and he will be much stronger next year.” “I hope he stays, even if he had a difficult season. When Samir is at the top, when it is good as it has been lately, he is one of the best players in his position in Europe.”
