Footballers are often described as forgotten men. It isn’t often actually true. In Matija Nastasic’s case, sadly, it is.
Manuel Pellegrini was talking about his centre-backs three weeks ago. He referenced captain Vincent Kompany, his long-term ally Martin Demichelis and Manchester City’s biggest summer signing Eliaquim Mangala. He even named Dedryck Boyata, the inadequate reserve. There was no mention of Nastasic.
“Sorry, I forgot, Nastasic also,” Pellegrini said when prompted. It could have been dismissed as a temporary lapse in memory had he not earlier said: “I think that we have four centre-backs.” Four: Kompany, Demichelis, Mangala, Boyata. Not Nastasic, much City’s best signing of the 2012/13 season, a defender who ousted the title-winner Joleon Lescott from the side and a player who should have been shortlisted for the PFA Young Player of the Year award.
If Nastasic has been remembered of late, it has not been because of his performances. He last played for City in August’s Community Shield, before Mangala had signed and when Kompany and Demichelis were not deemed fit enough to feature. His most recent – perhaps last – league game was February’s defeat to Chelsea, before injury curtailed his campaign. Instead, he figures in transfer gossip. He was linked with Juventus, Roma and AC Milan; his standing in Serie A remains high after a successful year with Fiorentina in 2011/12.
City received multiple enquiries for the Serb at the end of the summer transfer window, with Arsenal among his suitors, yet no move materialised. It is an indication others rate him highly. The surprise is that Pellegrini seemingly does not.
At first the centre-back’s demotion was interpreted as nepotistic preference for Demichelis, a stalwart of his Malaga side. Yet it clearly goes beyond that and it is tempting to wonder if Pellegrini watched Nastasic excel under his predecessor, Roberto Mancini.
The Chilean provided a clean slate for the many who either underachieved or were disgruntled in Mancini’s final few months. Yet the problem with a ‘year zero’ approach is that it scarcely rewards those who have succeeded. City’s three best players that year were Pablo Zabaleta, who lost the vice-captaincy to Yaya Toure after Pellegrini’s arrival, and James Milner and Nastasic, who both lost their places. Past deeds seemed to count for little.
Nastasic seemed to suffer for City’s early-season troubles on the road 12 months ago. Joe Hart was the most obvious culprit and the man who was dropped after October’s defeat to Chelsea. Yet the young Serb was partly culpable for Fernando Torres’ winner then while, though Hart should shoulder more responsibility, he could be faulted for Andreas Weimann’s decider for Aston Villa a month before.
On neither occasion was he demoted straight away. Perhaps, though, he was deemed too tentative and the exuberant Demichelis, a bigger personality, gained in comparison. Certainly, while Nastasic did not replicate the form he showed in his debut campaign, he did little else wrong. City actually took 28 points from 13 league games he played last season, conceding only nine goals when he was on the pitch.
There are further factors which make it strange he is being sidelined. Despite being Belgian, Boyata ticks boxes as a homegrown player in the Premier League and a club-developed one in Europe. Yet, because of his tender years, the 21-year-old Nastasic does not fill one of the overseas quota either.
And his youth is doubly significant. City have fielded sides with an average age of 29. Pellegrini has faced questions if his team will decline together. Nastasic, like the 23-year-old Mangala, ought to constitute the next generation. Instead, there is a willingness to extend the veteran Demichelis’ contract while one who showed prodigious assurance as a teenager appears surplus to requirements. Now there are high hopes at the Etihad Stadium for the 19-year-old centre-back Jason Denayer, who has been loaned out to Celtic. Yet his promise is not enough to solve the mystery of Nastasic’s strange disappearance.
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