Samir Nasri makes first appearance for 18-months after doping ban ends

Boss Manuel Pellegrini has thrown the Frenchman right into the mix after his doping ban came to an end on January 1.

The former Arsenal and Man City man, 31, had been training with West Ham but had only penned a deal to sign on a free transfer this month.

He was on the bench for their Premier League draw over Brighton but failed to get on the pitch.

Nasri had been slapped with a lengthy ban from playing football while playing for Sevilla in 2016 for using a drip treatment.

It was initially a six month ban that was later extended to 18 following an appeal against the original sanction.


Pellegrini believes Nasri will be a huge hit in a Hammers shirt because he is gunning for revenge.

He said: "I suppose because he knows that this is revenge for him, he is motivated, working hard and he has a lot of quality and I am absolutely sure he will be a player that makes a difference.

"Samir is a very technical player and I am sure he will play in the same way as he did before. I trust in him a lot.

"I don't want to talk about whether it was his fault or not his fault. He was involved,"

"I have known Samir Nasri since I was at Manchester City. He was a top player in the first year, one of the reasons we won the title was because of him.

"After speaking to him for a long time about what he was thinking about for the future, I decided to give him an option here at West Ham."

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