Samir Nasri has admitted that he could still leave Manchester City before the transfer window close later this week.
The French midfielder, 29, had been tipped to quit the club following Pep Guardiola’s arrival but he was praised by his new manager after City’s 3-1 win over West Ham.
Nasri played 15 minutes on Sunday in what was his first appearance of the season and Guardiola said that the ex-Arsenal player is welcomed to stay at City.
Speaking to French TV channel SFR Sport after the game, however, Nasri said he still did not know if he would remain in Manchester for the season.
“Yes, there could still be movement,” Nasri 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.”
Guardiola said Nasri had arrived for preseason overweight but that his training had been “fantastic” since then.
Nasri was happy to get a chance to repay his manager’s trust in him against West Ham.
“I was a little out of shape and then I worked a lot,” Nasri said of his preseason.
“I let people talk. I simply concentrated on what I know what to do best and that’s on the pitch.
“For a few weeks now, things have been going really well with the coach. He decided to call on me today and I tried to show him on the pitch.”
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