Samir Nasri is likely to leave Manchester City for Besiktas this week, despite Pep Guardiola’s insistence that he still has a role to play at the club.
Nasri was a surprise inclusion in the City squad for the 3-1 victory against West Ham on Sunday given he had not been involved in any previous matches this season and was left out of the Blues’ list of eligible players for the Champions League play-off round.
The Frenchman was introduced as a second-half substitute and came close to getting on the scoresheet on a couple of occasions, and Guardiola revealed after the match that he is willing to offer him a role in his squad.
“It depends on the player but he can play,” he said, echoing his previous statements about Joe Hart and Yaya Toure, among others. “Samir arrived overweight but after one week, 10 days, it was fantastic how he trained, how he competes.
“His quality is on another level but it depends on him. If [he] wants to help us, wants to stay, wants to be part of something, it depends on him, not me.”
But a Besiktas delegation will arrive in England on Monday and Nasri is expected to return to Turkey to seal a loan deal.
Nasri himself stated to the French media that a move is still possible. The former Arsenal man refused to give any interviews to the British press over what he believes was unfair reporting of his exclusion from first-team training.
Guardiola banished Nasri from the club’s pre-season preparations after he reported back from his summer break overweight – City themselves unwittingly revealed as much when posting a video on Twitter that showed the 29-year-old running on his own away from the group.
Nasri is one of five players – also including Hart, Toure, Wilfried Bony and Eliaquim Mangala – that City are willing to sell before the transfer window closes on Wednesday.
The France midfielder insists the club have never tried to force him out, but admitted he may decide to leave anyway.
“Yes, there could still be movement,” he said. “It depends on a lot of things in fact.
“There’s been a lot of speculation. Things that are true. Things that are false, too, because they’ve never shown me the door or anything like that.
“But I said: ‘Everything depends on what’s up there [in your head] and your desire.’ So we’ll see. We’re going to sit down, discuss it and see what’s to be done.”
City have now accepted that they will not be able to find a buyer for Toure before Wednesday’s deadline, but remain hopeful of moving on Bony and Mangala.
West Ham retain an interest in taking Bony on a short-term loan deal, despite clinching the signing of Simone Zaza on Sunday, ahead of the Ivorian moving to the Chinese Super League in the winter.
Mangala has a number of suitors but City may have to continue paying a portion of his wages if he leaves on loan.
Hart is still expected to leave the club, despite Everton manager Ronald Koeman insisting he has “no interest” in the England No.1. Serie A outfit Torino have shown an initial interest in the goalkeeper and are expected to make contact over a move in the coming days.
