The Daily Mirror believe City could attempt to make a move for Juventus midfielder in the summer using Samir Nasri as a makeweight in the deal – the latest in a list of players to reportedly be considered for a swap deal with the former United midfielder.
This news comes after reports following the Palace game stated Nasri is unhappy at the club following a disagreement over being dropped prior to the international break. Since the reported incident, he’s not featured as much but did have a positive impact when he came on at Selhurst Park on Monday, where he allowed Yaya Toure to score soon after entering play.
Pogba has long been earmarked as a potential successor to Yaya in City’s midfield, and for many people the former Old Trafford youngster is top priority this summer, with many of those people also believing Yaya is past his best at Eastlands – therefore, a replacement needs to be brought in fast, or else this short spell of decline may extend longer than it needs to.
However, City are almost certainly not going to be the only club in for the highly-rated Frenchman. In recent moves, Real Madrid and Chelsea have been linked with big-money moves for the midfielder, as have his former club Manchester United (although that seems more unrealistic). If the reports about City wanting to use Nasri in a swap deal are true, they may believe that gives them an advantage over their vying rivals, and it also deals with the problem of Nasri’s unhappiness – if, of course, those reports are even true.
The Serie A club reportedly rate the 22-year-old France international at nearly £60 million, which means if City were to use Nasri as a bargaining they would still need to pay a large sum of money for a player who could, in theory, be a central figure in the City midfield for years to come.
