Manuel Pellegrini has again admitted his interest in signing former player Samir Nasri for West Ham United.
Samir Nasri to West Ham United is still very much on, with Manuel Pellegrini admitting as much in his press conference on Thursday.
The former Arsenal and Manchester City midfielder has been training with his old boss as he prepares to return after an 18-month ban for doping and Pellegrini is open about wanting to sign him.
“We will see about Nasri,” he said, as per BBC Sport. “He is working with us after a long time with his ban. We are giving him a hand to return to football.
“I hope he will be fit between now and the end of the year and if he is we will try to sign him.”
A move for Nasri would undoubtedly be a huge show of faith from West Ham in their new boss, even after a net-spend of over £80m in the summer.
Nasri is reportedly demanding a big wage, and that will come under some scrutiny considering the on-going contract talks with Declan Rice.
With Nasri supposedly asking for £80k a week, Rice’s supposed £21k a week offer doesn’t look too good in comparison – that’s nearly four times the amount for a 31-year-old who hasn’t played since January, over one of the more promising English talents about.
It remains to be seen what Rice will choose – there will certainly be a whole host of Premier League clubs that are happy to offer him a high wage if he keeps performing over the next few months.
But if West Ham are forced to watch him elsewhere next season, having Nasri in their squad is unlikely to feel like a decent trade.
If Rice didn’t want to play for West Ham then the talks wouldn’t be happening – he can be convinced, he just needs to be shown faith, and a big part of that would be showing him that he’s the immediate future of the club rather than a player like Nasri.
In an ideal world, Nasri would prove to be a bargain free-transfer signing by West Ham and Pellegrini is showered in nothing but praise for the move.
Is it worth it? On the face of it, probably not, but the Hammers are backing their boss and for that they should be commended.
But for Pellegrini’s sake, he better be right about this one – there could be a lot of regret in East London, otherwise.
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