CC: Jurgen Klopp
Cast your mind back to the summer transfer window last year and you will know that Lyon’s captain and talisman, Nabil Fekir, was very close to joining Liverpool prior to the World Cup. That was, of course, before the club reportedly pulled the plug on the move due to concerns over the Frenchman’s past history of knee injuries.
Like Ross and Rachel, it’s all been a bit off again on again between the team and the player ever since, and we could now be set for even more speculation that Fekir will move to Anfield.
Lyon’s club president, Jean-Michel Aulas, has confirmed that Fekir will be allowed to leave the French club this summer.
The French international has only a year left on his contract so it makes sense that the club would want to cash in on the player rather than lose him for nothing at the end of next season.
After a 3-2 victory over Nimes in their last Ligue 1 game of the season on Friday, Aulas said: “Effectively, Nabil is outside [of the two departures expected], because we have an understanding that he can go.
“Thanks Nabil for bringing what he brought, we have an understanding to let him go.”
The problem now, for Lyon, could be that the market for the player has grown significantly quieter due to the fact that Fekir scored only nine league goals this season, compared to 18 in the previous campaign having played the same number of games.
Similarly, Liverpool may now feel that they don’t need the playmaker, nor want him, given that it would likely require Jurgen Klopp to change his team’s typical 4-3-3 setup to get the best of Fekir in his favoured number 10 role.
That all being said, his undoubted quality combined with his age (25) and the potential cost of a move – which should be extremely affordable given his contract situation and the fact Aulas has now readily made him available – would make Fekir a standout signing for any of the top six in England.
His assist and goal in Lyon’s shock 2-1 victory over Manchester City at the Etihad showed exactly what he could be capable in the Premier League.
