[ad_pod ]
West Ham United defender Pablo Zabaleta has revealed to Sky Sports that he believes Samir Nasri will bring a creative spark that the Irons are missing.
What’s he said?
Speaking to Sky Sports, the Argentinean right-back spoke on how his former-Manchester City teammate would give the claret and blue side a welcome creative boost.
“We need players with his quality,” said the 33-year-old. “Especially because also we lost two key players who brought quality into this team – Manuel Lanzini in the summer before the World Cup and then [Jack] Wilshere, who is very close to coming back to the team.
“On the ball [Nasri] is fantastic. He is one of those players who can give to the team some possession and play between the lines to help the attacking players to create chances.
“Samir needs a bit of time. He has not been football training for more than a year but sometimes those players are technically very good so he probably needs to focus more on his fitness levels.
“We know Samir and his quality. When he is fit he is on a different level. He is a fantastic player.”
Check out Playmaker FC’s Joe Street’s unfiltered take on Wayne Rooney’s England legacy in the video below…
What does he mean?
Despite fans showing resistance to Nasri joining their club, the French midfielder is training with the Hammers as he looks to convince the east London outfit he is worthy of a contract.
Zabaleta is certainly keen on his former teammate linking up with his current squad when his drug ban expires in the New Year. The Argentinean sees Nasri as a better option to have while countryman Lanzini remains sidelined.
Lanzini is currently expected to return from his ACL injury over Christmas but may not be able to play for some time after. Nasri would, therefore, offer Pellegrini another creative option in January.
Would he be an improvement?
The Frenchman would be going up against the likes of Robert Snodgrass, Mark Noble and Pedro Obiang as the Chilean’s midfield options. If Nasri has retained his technical abilities then Zabaleta is right, he would give Pellegrini a better creative option.
Having not focused on his fitness for the past 18 months, however, Nasri will need to show extensive progress over the next four weeks to convince the club he should be signed.
The backlash the Hammers could face from fans, though, ought to be enough to convince the club not to sign the midfielder. But Pellegrini’s insistence to David Sullivan appears to be overriding the outcry.
