Roma Looking at Manchester City Outcast After Accepting Defeat in Riyad Mahrez Chase

AS Roma have reportedly turned their attention to signing Manchester City midfielder Samir Nasri, as they abandon their pursuit of Leicester's Riyad Mahrez.

According to Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, Roma have been reluctant to meet Leicester's €40m asking price for the Algerian winger and have therefore looked elsewhere, with Nasri now a genuine target.

Roma's sporting director Monchi is a huge admirer of the player, and played a part in bringing the Frenchman to Sevilla last season in a season-long loan deal from the Etihad.

Stanley Chou/GettyImages

Nasri's agent. Alain Migllaccio, has already touched upon Nasri's interest in heading to the Italian capital, saying: "Monchi wanted him at Sevilla and knows him well. A city and a squad like Roma could certainly be very interesting for Nasri. That's where the motivation comes from.

"We want to understand the structure of the Roma option and work out if Samir can really fit into the Roma project. As far as we're concerned, we want to evaluate the situation well and understand the project.

"Nasri really likes the city, but a move to Rome would also depend on who is leaving from the midfield: Monchi is evaluating it. Samir can work in the centre as well as going out wide. There will certainly be surprises and there are many things to be evaluated."

Nasri looks set to leave the Etihad this summer, whether it's Italy or a more lucrative move to China. He isn't thought to be in manager Pep Guardiola's plans, and wants regular first-team football as he reaches the latter stages of his career.