Eagles Boss Roy Hodgson Dismisses Rumours Linking Free Agent Samir Nasri With Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson has dismissed reports that he is interested in signing former Arsenal and Manchester City midfielder Sami Nasri.

The Frenchman is available on a free transfer, after his contract with former club Antalyaspor was cancelled on 31st January.

"It’s not just a question of whether you like a player or whether you respect a player," Hodgson told the Croydon Advertiser in his pre-match press conference yesterday.

"It’s a question of if you bring that player in, is he in a position where you really need him and by bringing him in, are you bringing him in to play or are just to sit on the bench, and will he satisfied by that?"

Palace have been blighted by injuries of late, with Wilfried Zaha the latest to join a long injury list at Selhurst Park. Defenders Scott Dann and Jeffrey Schlupp are currently injured, and they are joined on the injury table by Jason Puncheon and Ruben Loftus-Cheek, as well as strikers Connor Wickham and Bakary Sako.

Clive Mason/GettyImages

"At the moment, if we are going to bring free agents in, it would be more useful for when I look at the balance of our squad, if they were a forward or a goalkeeper, because there we are desperately short of numbers. In midfield we are not short of numbers."

Despite Hodgson's desire to strengthen in other areas of the pitch, Nasri would be a good signing if he were to join Palace. The 30-year-old midfielder would bring little financial risk as he would join as a free agent, and has clocked up an impressive 210 appearances in the Premier League.