Nasri determined to fight for his Man City future

The Frenchman, who will miss the majority of the season due to a serious tendon injury, is happy at the club despite having been identified as a likely candidate to leave
Samir Nasri is determined to stay and fight for his Manchester City future despite his growing status as the club's forgotten man, Sportmasta has learned.

The Frenchman struggled to break into Manuel Pellegrini's first team at the start of the season following the summer arrivals of Raheem Sterling and Kevin De Bruyne for a combined outlay of close to £100 million.

Nasri had started two matches - one in the Premier League and one in the Champions League - and was largely restricted to late substitute appearances before being struck down with a tendon injury which will keep him on the sidelines for around six months.



He is also likely to be removed from City's Champions League squad for the knockout stages, which must be declared by February 2, as Pellegrini looks to increase the pool of players from which he can choose. Kelechi Iheanacho, the 19-year-old Nigerian, is currently favourite to take Nasri's place having missed out on being involved in the group stages.

Pellegrini has consistently played down the chances of signing any players in January, but has admitted that there is a chance somebody could arrive to fill the hole left by Nasri.

Many supporters had expected him to be moved on during the summer, especially given the likely arrival of Pep Guardiola at the Etihad Stadium and the possibility of a squad overhaul.

But sources close to the 28-year-old indicate he has no plans to leave as he believes the new contract he signed in 2014, which runs for another three-and-a-half years, is a sign of the club's commitment.



The former Arsenal man is happy with Pellegrini - the Chilean always refers to Nasri in his press conferences when giving injury updates - but is said to be excited by the prospect of working with Guardiola, should the Catalan coach take up residence in Manchester this summer.

City, however, are set to ramp up their recruitment drive at the end of the season having already spent around £170m in 2015.

Paul Pogba and Lionel Messi are among the top-end targets on the club's wishlist, while the likes of Real Madrid midfielder Isco and Schalke starlet Leroy Sane have been linked with January moves but are more likely to be pursued in the summer.

In fact, a number of players are said to have been identified by Guardiola already, with newspapers across Europe linking the club with deals for Alexis Sanchez, Ilkay Gundogan, Neymar, Ander Herrera and David Alaba, who are all said to be favourites of the Bayern Munich boss.