Nasri joins West Ham United after serving doping ban

London, January 1: Former France international midfielder Samir Nasri has joined joining Premier League side West Ham United as a free agent till the end of the season after serving a doping ban.

Nasri will reunite with West Ham manager Manuel Pellegrini, with whom he won one of his two Premier League titles at Manchester City, after joining the Hammers on an initial contract until the end of the 2018/19 season with an option to extend his stay.

The club announced the signing on their website.

Following a successful period of training at Rush Green, the French midfielder has joined the Hammers on an initial contract until the end of the 2018/19 season, with the option to extend his stay in east London.https://t.co/l6eFAcUD3p

— West Ham United (@WestHamUtd) December 31, 2018

"Coming back to the most competitive league in the world, with a team full of ambition with a manager that I know... I'm really excited about it," said Nasri.

The 31-year-old, is free to play again from January 1 after being suspended in February while playing for Turkish side Antalyaspor for taking a multi-vitamin booster in contravention of World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) rules.

An initial six-month ban was extended to 18 months by UEFA in August, but backdated to July 1, 2017.

"He is a player I obviously know well from our time together at Manchester City and I am happy to be working with him again," said the Chilean coach.

"He has been working very hard here in recent weeks to build up his fitness and condition after a long period without playing, and he is now very determined to return to his best."

West Ham sit 11th in the Premier League having recovered from four straight defeats at the start of Pellegrini's reign

Premier League points table | Results | Fixtures

Former City and Arsenal midfielder Nasri made 41 appearances for France before retiring from international football in 2014, aged just 27, after not being picked for the World Cup in Brazil by Didier Deschamps.

Nasri played for Arsenal between 2008-2011 and joined City for a spell that included two league titles and a League Cup before he fell out of favour following the arrival of manager Pep Guardiola.

The former France international then joined Spanish side Sevilla on a season-long loan in 2016 before sealing a permanent switch to Turkish side Antalyaspor, who he left in January by mutual consent.

(With Agency inputs)