West Ham linked with Samir Nasri – does it make sense?

Amidst rumors of French midfielder and attacker Samir Nasri having medicals at the club, West Ham supporters are caught in a dilemma. The Hammers need reinforcements after injuries to Lanzini, Yarmolenko, Carroll, and Wilshere, but does a shock move for the banned player make sense?

It’s all but confirmed now –

West Ham are lining up to bring in the former Manchester City midfield attacker and currently banned player for doping, Samir Nasri. Nasri has a connection to West Ham manager Manuel Pellegrini who coached him to two Premier League titles in 2011/12 and 2013/14 with Manchester City.

As the major news outlets are currently reporting, Nasri is undergoing medicals at West Ham’s facility today (November 12th) and is expected to sign a deal that would keep him at West Ham until the end of the season with a club option to extend a year. The wages are expected to be around £80,000 a week.

The negatives with this deal are pretty astounding and visible. Nasri is currently serving a footballing ban that has kept him out for 18 months after receiving intervenes treatment in Los Angeles. He is also 31 years old, which doesn’t make a lot of supporters excited; we want the next best thing not a previous pretty good thing. And lastly, there are a few West Ham fans suggesting Nasri has a poisonous attitude that could hurt the club.

Let’s address these issues one-by-one to hopefully try and see positives in the decision by Pellegrini to sign the player:

His ban was for recovery treatment with an intervenes drip, most likely to help with rehydration. Nasri was even oblivious enough to pose with the staff of the clinic for pictures, suggesting he didn’t know the treatment was banned (and that he may not be the brightest bulb).

His age is an issue, sure, but look at Carlos Sanchez when he signed. West Ham fans were furious that a young, exciting player had not been transferred in, but instead a 32-year-old Premier League flop. Fast forward a few weeks later and there were outcries on twitter (and this site) for the aging player to be a regular starter due to his performances. Now out for the foreseeable future, Sanchez showed that cover players can positively impact teams.

Last is the attitude of Nasri that turns people off of him. He certainly isn’t afraid to break the mold on cookie cutter answers and is often outspoken about issues like his international career with France and Didier Deschamps.

At Manchester City, lack of consistency in Pep Guardiola’s side eventually saw Nasri leave on loan then permanently after not gelling with his new manager and teammates. His attitude was cited as a reason for him often being left out of the Guardiola team selection, but just a year prior he was being called a rogue player who was praised for his poor attitude which fuelled his on-pitch performances in the Champions League.

As for his attitude, an 18-month ban can do a lot to humble a man. West Ham need to hope that a forced breakup with the sport Nasri loves will put things into perspective with him and settle him down once he gets to the club. He’ll be among a few familiar faces with Pellegrini and Pablo Zabaleta of his Manchester City days already at West Ham. Zabaleta’s current position beside Mark Noble as a club leader should also quell any unrest upon his entering of the locker room.

As for Nasri’s ability to perform, in his time in Turkey’s Super Lig Nasri showed he can still contribute, notching two goals and one assist in nine games played. He is a centrally based attacker who can play both sides of the midfield as well, which offers versatility on the pitch. Likely a cover player, Nasri will likely be given the month of January to audition for a place amongst the starting Xi with Lanzini still out injured.

I, for one, am excited at the move because Manuel Pellegrini wants the man in. I have been impressed with his player identification and his ability to see value where others don’t (Anderson, Sanchez, Diop, Balbuena, Fabianski, Snodgrass). Give him time and let him get reacquainted with the team; with a deal imminent, as confirmed by ExWHUemployee, Nasri has two weeks to get in with the team during the international break and start his climb back to game shape.