He just needs a little love; Samir Nasri is the classic player with characteristics that need pampering, making him feel at ease. If these conditions are not put in place, he becomes a normal player who completely loses his confidence and someone who struggles to make a difference.

His career has been littered with comparisons to former French greats. When he was at Marseille it was Zinedine Zidane and after a halcyon period at Arsenal, a switch to Manchester City to join Mancini, then Pellegrini and finally Pep Guardiola, has proven to be a complete disaster due to injury, tactical negligence, scandals away from the field and relationships with beautiful women such as Lindsay Lohan and Anara Atanes. Nasri lost his way in England and yet last summer he was one of the major players in the transfer market.  

After rumours linking him with a move to Juventus then a last-minute attempt by Inter to bring him to the San Siro, he finally checked in at Sevilla on the specific request of new boss Sampaoli. Now the 29-year-old is re-born; having scored three times in eight appearances for the Andalusian’s and this looks like only the beginning.


Steve Mitchell @barafundler