Samir Nasri will reunite with former Manchester City teammate Vincent Kompany by signing for Anderlecht, the club has confirmed. The midfielder last played for West Ham United, where he signed a six-month contract this past January.
Ex-Arsenal Midfielder Samir Nasri Signs for Anderlecht
In Good Kompany
Vincent Kompany signed for Anderlecht after his City contract expired last month and will serve as player-manager. His English connections have paid off for the Belgian side already as they have tempted former Premier League star Samir Nasri to join.
He’s in! Welcome Samir Nasri. Bienvenue au #RSCA. #WelcomeSamir #COYM pic.twitter.com/Na6f99joCQ
— RSC Anderlecht (@rscanderlecht) July 5, 2019
Samir Nasri joined Arsenal from Marseille in 2008 and spent three seasons with the Gunners. A big-money contract then tempted him to Manchester City where he won two Premier League titles alongside Kompany.
The former French international tested positive for a banned substance in 2016, prompting an 18-month doping ban. Once the ban expired, West Ham took a chance on the player by offering a short-term contract.
Nasri repaid their faith almost immediately as he assisted Declan Rice’s winner against Arsenal in January in the player’s first competitive match since 2016.
Anderlecht are set to play on the European stage for the first time in five years. Although they finished sixth in the Jupiler League, their season was marred by crowd trouble, including incidents of flairs being thrown onto the pitch.
The club will hope the arrival of 32-year-old Samir Nasri, as well as Vincent Kompany, will see them improve on the past season’s success and hopefully add to their record 34 Belgian titles.
Anderlecht’s sporting director Michael Verschueren said of Kompany’s return, “with Vincent’s return we have achieved something that everyone thought was impossible. Vincent is the child of the house and the person we need to give a new impulse to the club and to use for RSCA 2.0.”
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