The arrival of Leroy Sane from Bundesliga outfit Schalke on Tuesday gave Manchester City fans the confidence to believe that new manager Pep Guardiola was beginning to mould a squad his own at the Etihad.
Sane follows in the footsteps of Ilkay Gundogan and Nolito, who have almost joined Guardiola in Manchester this summer. However, City signing £37m Sane does mean one thing: either Samir Nasri or Jesus Navas will be heading for the exit door.
Guardiola’s admiration for midfielders has been duly noted before, and his transfer business thus far has seen City improved upon their already-talented array of attacking options. Now, fighting for places in the team are; David Silva, Kevin De Bruyne, Raheem Sterling and Nolito, as well as Nasri, Navas, and Sane.
The Sky Blues will operate with three attacking midfielders in the coming season. But, even with three of those options playing, that leaves four of them competing merely for a place in the match-day squad.
It is no secret that Nasri and Navas are two of the players on the fringes of the squad. Nasri has been battling recurring injuries for the last two seasons and returned to training ‘a little overweight’ in July, meaning that he was excluded in City’s opening two friendlies. Navas, meanwhile, has faced criticism for his lack of accuracy and decisiveness in recent times and reports have suggested that a deal is in place for him to return to Sevilla (upon Guardiola’s say so).
Nasri’s influence when playing is undeniable; he possesses prodigious positivity. His performance in the 3-0 win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge last season exemplified that. Replacing an out-of-sorts Silva, the Frenchman was exceptional without stealing the limelight. Sergio Aguero bagged a hat-trick that day, preventing Nasri from scooping the Man of the Match award.
Aguero’s hat-trick happening in a match where Nasri featured heavily was no coincidence, though. Nasri has the ability, unlike others, to rekindle partnerships immediately. Despite hardly playing alongside Aguero in 2015/16, it seemed as though Nasri had never been away when starting the match with his Argentinian teammate.
Navas is the polar opposite. His tendency to have little influence on the game has become all too consistent for City fans. Staying at City would see Navas become a player used sporadically and in short stints. Being unable to have the desired effect when playing 90 minutes, what possible chance does he have when playing 15 minutes every other week?
Since the title-winning term of 2013/14, Navas has looked a completely different player. That is partly down to the departure of his compatriot, Alvaro Negredo. Playing alongside each other gave both players confidence. They had been teammates at Sevilla and were reunited in Manchester. Unfortunately, Negredo was homesick and returned to Spain after a barren end to the season.
The situation had clearly rocked Navas, who started the following campaign poorly. His confidence had disappeared in an instant and speculation began about his long-term future at the club. That speculation has never gone away, and there have always been doubts in the minds of City fans whether Navas is comfortable living in England.
Reports emerged last week that Guardiola would give Nasri the chance to prove his fitness before deciding whether or not to allow Navas to return to childhood club, Sevilla. The ex-Bayern coach is in favour of keeping Nasri but knows that any doubts about his fitness could hinder his plans for 2016/17. That is why he is keeping his options open.
Regardless of the outcome of this transfer window, both Nasri and Navas have been great servants to Manchester City and should be at the centre of appraisal from fans for their contributions during their tenures at the club.
