West Ham United boss Manuel Pellegrini has revealed that Samir Nasri will have to prove his fitness in order to be offered a contract in January.
If the ex-Manchester City is able to prove himself, then the Hammers could sign him on a free transfer in the next window when his 18 month playing ban for a doping offence expires – but his fitness is of the most paramount importance now that he is training with the rest of the squad.
Should Pellegrini be satisfied with how Nasri is progressing, then the club will offer him the chance to play for West Ham from January onwards.
“We will see about Nasri. 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,” he said, as quoted by BBC Sport.
OPINION
If anything, this is the news that the West Ham fans would not have been wanting to hear. It remains to be seen why the Hammers are keen on signing Nasri, so many supporters will have their fingers crossed that he does not prove his fitness. Yes, he was once a brilliant player for the likes of Manchester City and Arsenal, but he has gone past that now, especially as he has not been in competitive action for over a year now. It is common knowledge that the club are after a short-term replacement for the crocked Andriy Yarmolenko, but Nasri is most definitely not the answer to their problems. There are plenty of other options that they could consider in January instead of a player who has gone past their sell-by date, but it looks like he is set to sign for them unless he is seriously unfit.
