With Manchester City bringing in a number of talented young midfielders this summer already, it seems that Samir Nasri’s days in Blue are numbered.
There’s an old saying, so old indeed that even the internet is unsure of its origin, that too much of a good thing always leaves one wanting more. It’s a bit of a weird phrase actually, given you would think it should be the opposite. Nonetheless, there are a number of applications in which this holds true, without even having to go down the rabbit hole of stimulant abuse.
Take new Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola for example. Famous for many things, but perhaps none more so than his penchant for the passing, movement and above all possession-based football style known as tiki taka. Central to this is the importance of midfielders. Pep has previously stated he would have no problem playing a full squad of 10 midfielders, and, true to his word, did this on a number of occasions at Barcelona and Bayern Munich.
Midfielders. If you’re Pep Guardiola, you can never have too many midfielders. Midfielders in the lineup, midfielders on the bench, midfielders in your coaching staff. Everywhere. And, if you’re a midfielder, you must feel pretty secure in your comfortable and well-paying position in Manchester City, while your centre-forward colleague feels like a turkey at Christmas.
Such nonchalant thoughts may not have been the catalyst for City’s veteran midfielder Samir Nasri turning up for training packing a few extra pounds, but one has to wonder.
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Nasri, only a week ago, was the subject of a personal “calling out” during one of Pep’s press conferences where he was named as being amongst a group of overweight players who were training apart from the squad. Now things seem to have been taken a step further. French daily newspaper L’Equipe now states that, ultimately, Nasri isn’t a part of Pep’s plans and has been placed on City’s transfer list.
This actually isn’t terribly surprising, given the large intake at the Etihad this transfer window with only Martin Demachelis seeing the door so far. Further, L’Equipe suggests interest for the 29-year-old could be quite high, particularly from Serie A where he could link up again with former City manager Roberto Mancini at Inter. Mancini, for those paying attention, has seemingly only been interested in re-acquiring his old squad since taking up the post in Milan.
If L’Equipe are bluffing on this, it’s a pretty safe story to concoct. Doubtless Nasri will leave. The numbers simply don’t add up, with too many midfielders and not enough spots, even for Pep, to put them in. Further, he appears to have gotten on the new manager’s bad side from the get-go and that’s probably enough to see him off regardless. This, also shouldn’t be a shock.
Nasri’s contributions over the years have been clinical, indeed, on occasion, even essential to the success City has seen. His strongest suit is Pep’s, possession and passing. Every season since coming to the Etihad Nasri has had a pass completion percentage of 90% or higher, reaching 91.5% in an amazing 29 appearances in the 2013/2014 season. He also scored 7 and assisted 7 in that same year, making an average 2.7 key passes per game, all of which is the best in the squad.
It’s difficult to blame Nasri for his performances, but one thing he certainly catches flack for is his attitude both on the pitch and off it. This is the more likely cause of his weight gain over the summer and will be the issue that causes Pep and City to move on from him. Pep has shown he’s more than willing to shed star players based on their attitude alone, indeed, it’s something he’s done in almost every transfer window to date.
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It’s a shame in many ways, but with such a wealth of young and talented midfielders, coupled with one of the best managers in the game, Citizens likely won’t spend long mourning Nasri moving on. And he will move on, and he will continue to impress where he goes next. He’s a talented player, but, as L’Equipe puts it, he just doesn’t seem to be part of Pep’s plans. You can never have too many good midfielders, but not any old midfielder will do. Not anymore.