Samir Nasri, who played in Arsenal’s defeat to Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium, wants his agent to seal the City move quickly
Samir Nasri was today trying to force through his move to Manchester City before he has to board Arsenal’s flight to Italy.
The Gunners midfielder has told his agent to quickly sort out his £3m payment demand which has protracted the deal after the clubs agreed on a £22m fee.
Nasri is keen to avoid playing in Arsenal’s Champions League play-off second leg against Udinese, as that would cup-tie him for City’s European campaign and could even jeopardise the whole deal.
City would seek to re-negotiate the deal if that happens, so Arsenal may also be keen to complete it before the afternoon flight to Udine. That means Nasri will be lined up for a debut at Spurs on Sunday but is likely to begin on the bench.
Nigel de Jong has already given the Blues a boost by declaring he should be fit to return for that clash with the fellow top-four hopefuls.
The Dutch midfielder missed the 3-2 win at Bolton with a bruised foot, which prevented him from training all week, but manager Roberto Mancini believes he will be fit again for the trip to White Hart Lane.
And that is a big bonus for City, with midfielder Gareth Barry claiming the Blues may not have conceded two goals at the Reebok Stadium had their midfield stalwart been playing. “Nigel is a big loss, he’s the type of player that helps shut out teams – it’s no coincidence that we conceded two goals without him,” said Barry.
The statistics back that up, as City only won one of the seven league games de Jong missed last season.
De Jong watched from the Reebok stands alongside Patrick Vieira as the Blues won a pulsating battle, in which Carlos Tevez made a return as substitute following his late return to training due to Copa America duty.
But manager Roberto Mancini has warned that Tevez may not be fit to start against Spurs, and may have to again be satisfied with a place on the bench. He is pencilled in for his first start of the season in the home clash with Wigan on September 10.
“Carlos played well for 20 minutes but he is not ready – he needs another week to 10 days, so maybe he will be 100 per cent after the international break,” said Mancini.
Meanwhile, Fiorentina winger Alessio Cerci, who is a City target, has ruled himself out of a move to the Blues, saying he wants to stay in Serie A.
But the star of City’s FA Youth Cup win in 2008, Vladimir Weiss – who has made just two first team appearances for City – is poised to join Dynamo Kiev in a £4m deal after passing a medical on Monday.
The Gunners midfielder has told his agent to quickly sort out his £3m payment demand which has protracted the deal after the clubs agreed on a £22m fee.
Nasri is keen to avoid playing in Arsenal’s Champions League play-off second leg against Udinese, as that would cup-tie him for City’s European campaign and could even jeopardise the whole deal.
City would seek to re-negotiate the deal if that happens, so Arsenal may also be keen to complete it before the afternoon flight to Udine. That means Nasri will be lined up for a debut at Spurs on Sunday but is likely to begin on the bench.
Nigel de Jong has already given the Blues a boost by declaring he should be fit to return for that clash with the fellow top-four hopefuls.
The Dutch midfielder missed the 3-2 win at Bolton with a bruised foot, which prevented him from training all week, but manager Roberto Mancini believes he will be fit again for the trip to White Hart Lane.
And that is a big bonus for City, with midfielder Gareth Barry claiming the Blues may not have conceded two goals at the Reebok Stadium had their midfield stalwart been playing. “Nigel is a big loss, he’s the type of player that helps shut out teams – it’s no coincidence that we conceded two goals without him,” said Barry.
The statistics back that up, as City only won one of the seven league games de Jong missed last season.
De Jong watched from the Reebok stands alongside Patrick Vieira as the Blues won a pulsating battle, in which Carlos Tevez made a return as substitute following his late return to training due to Copa America duty.
But manager Roberto Mancini has warned that Tevez may not be fit to start against Spurs, and may have to again be satisfied with a place on the bench. He is pencilled in for his first start of the season in the home clash with Wigan on September 10.
“Carlos played well for 20 minutes but he is not ready – he needs another week to 10 days, so maybe he will be 100 per cent after the international break,” said Mancini.
Meanwhile, Fiorentina winger Alessio Cerci, who is a City target, has ruled himself out of a move to the Blues, saying he wants to stay in Serie A.
But the star of City’s FA Youth Cup win in 2008, Vladimir Weiss – who has made just two first team appearances for City – is poised to join Dynamo Kiev in a £4m deal after passing a medical on Monday.
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