Former Chile boss and current manager of La Liga side Jorge Luis Sampaoli has praised the efforts of Manchester City player Samir Nasri who is on loan at the club.

The experienced coach opines that Nasri has picked up his career with his move to Spain and that he is playing brilliantly.

“The team breathes when he has the ball. He has so much quality that he is able to relieve us when we’re being pressured by our opponent,” he said.

Nasri seem to have revived his career, which was winding down after his injury while he was with City. He was always in the wrong end of media attention, with accusations of laziness and bad attitude. However, he has been the rallying point for Sampaoli’s men this campaign.

Sevilla finished second in their group in the Champions League and are putting up a tough battle for the La Liga title this season, slugging it out with Real Madrid and Barcelona. The French player said that he is playing well because the manager plays him in his best role.

“My favourite position is holding midfield because I can get on the ball and be at the centre of the team. I don’t like playing on the wing and if I have played there it is because the coach put me there because he thought that was best,” the 29-year old said.

The player has been linked with a return to the Etihad to continue his career under Coach Pep Guardiola. However, Nasri downplayed the link, preferring to focus on the present.

“Right not I’m focused only on the present, I do not think about anything else. I have to stay calm and do well in the second half of the season. We still do not know what will happen in the summer, today I am happy here,” he said. Whilst his goalscoring is not astonishing, his influence in central midfield is definitely a big boost to the Spanish side this year.