What a shame this would be for the France international.
As much as Lyon may have denied it, or wanted to deny it, Liverpool were reportedly all set to announce their second summer transfer and third big addition to their 2018/19 squad.
Friday afternoon was supposed to see the Reds release pictures and statements relating to their £53 million capture of Lyon and France midfielder Nabil Fekir.
The 24-year-old would be joining Naby Keita and Fabinho in strengthening a squad that reached the Champions League final in Kiev late last month.
According to Chris Bascombe of The Telergraph, a deal was agreed between Liverpool and Lyon and Fekir, and his representatives, had settled on personal terms.
Rather than travelling to Liverpool for his medical, the club sent their staff to France to conduct a medical on Fekir. The results came back on Friday morning and everything has stalled since then.
The deal is now in limbo and there has been speculation that the delay could stem from a serious knee injury he picked up while on international duty for France three years ago.
All parties had been eager to move the deal through before Fekir departed for the World Cup, in Russia. It remains to be seen whether that move will even take place now. The club may seek more tests or could look at alternatives.
Before heading to Russia, Fekir and France will take on the USA. The starting XI for that game has not been named yet but Fekir is set for some involvement. He started and scored in France’s win over Ireland but dropped down to the bench for the 2-1 victory over Italy last Friday.
The club, meanwhile, announced the departures of Emre Can and Jon Flanagan earlier on Friday.
Emre Can and Jon Flanagan will both leave the club upon the expiry of their contracts this summer.
Our full #PL retained list: https://t.co/HuG8VS9p1x
Everybody at #LFC thanks all departing players for their contributions and wishes them the best of luck for the future. pic.twitter.com/5JakqLejT4
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) June 8, 2018
The Fekir announcement was originally planned to dominate the day but the medical results have seemingly stalled what would have been an exciting, attacking addition to Jurgen Klopp’s squad.
