Samir Nasri needs to lose five kilogrammes to have any chance of getting into the West Ham team at the turn of the year, according to the Mirror.
The newspaper claim the Frenchman “raised eyebrows” with his condition at the club’s training headquarters when he arrived earlier this month.
The Mirror report that Nasri, 31, still has some weight to shift before he would be considered for a place in Manuel Pellegrini’s side even though he is set to be offered a six-month contract by the club.
OPINION
This seemingly inevitable deal has got ‘just walk away’ written all over it, as far as West Ham are concerned. News that the former Manchester City and Arsenal attacking midfielder had undergone a Hammers medical earlier this month was met with a mixed response from supporters, to put it kindly. Most claimed the Premier League winner is not the player the club need, as he completes an 18-month suspension for taking a banned substance, and they should look elsewhere for January reinforcements. Nasri is a big name with an impressive CV, but he is not what West Ham, or any Premier League club need. Even at his peak, he was always on the porky side and, in the Premier League, where the physical demands are brutal, anything other than outstanding physical condition doesn’t cut the mustard. West Ham need lean and hungry players, not those whose appetite off the pitch exceeds that on it.