Schalke new boy Nastasic was in demand

Matija Nastasic has revealed he turned down other offers in order to join Schalke and is determined to put his Manchester City woes behind him.

Matija Nastasic has revealed he turned down other offers in order to join Schalke and the defender is determined to ensure Manchester City’s loss is the Bundesliga club’s gain.

The Serbia centre-back sealed a loan move to Schalke for the rest of the season earlier this week, with a view to a permanent switch to Gelsenkirchen.

Nastasic, who joined City from Fiorentina back in 2012, fell out of favour with the Premier League champions and made only one appearance for Manuel Pellegrini’s side this season – in the Community Shield in August.

The 21-year-old has welcomed the opportunity play first-team football under Roberto Di Matteo and is ready to hit the ground running.

He told the club’s official website: “At the end of last year, we met twice for discussions. Roberto Di Matteo told me what he expects from the team and that he wants to have me in it.

“I had some other offers but it quickly became clear that I wanted to move to Schalke. The Bundesliga is one of the best leagues in Europe and is getting stronger.

“Schalke is a big and popular club. I am convinced that it was a good decision.”

Di Matteo’s side are fifth in the German top flight and Nastasic, in Doha on a training camp with his new team-mates, has set his sights on a top-three finish.

He said: “I want to play as many games as possible and help the club reach their targets. I hope that we get more points than we did in the first half of the season.

“We absolutely want to qualify for the Champions League. I think that it is still possible to finish in second or third place.”

Schalke face Hannover in their first Bundesliga game after the mid-season break on January 31.