Samir Nasri

Cross Chelsea winger Arjan Robben with the newly retired Zinedine Zidane and you come up with Samir Nasri. Just voted France’s best young player and given his first international cap, Nasri is a hot property. Despite interest from Real Madrid he will stick around in France for a while where he plays for Marseille.

The talented attacking midfielder, just 19, had a superb season for Marseille and has big ambition. For the moment he wants to remain in France for another season but would like a move to a European giant soon.

Nasri began playing in Ligue 1 with Marseille in the 2005 season. He started 13 games and came on as a substitute 11 times, just 17 years old at the time. The next year his goal count improved scoring two goals in all competitions. The following season he became more regular in the starting lineup and in the 2007 season became a full time starter, and a breakout player grabbing attention from the likes of Franck Ribery.

When you watch Nasri play, his talent is unmistakable. He has wonderful control and timing and evades defenders with apparent east. He’s quick too and has good vision. His teammates love playing with him and consider him one of the reasons Marseille has a better season last year. His weak point? Shooting. Don’t let the video below fool you, those are about his only goals. Some are crackers but check out other videos and you’ll see him missing the side of a barn over and over again.