Liverpool close to deal for £52m Fekir
Liverpool are close to securing French midfielder Nabil Fekir in a £52million transfer from Lyon. Anfield officials will continue negotiations today, increasingly hopeful of a deal before the 24-yearold heads for World Cup duty.
Liverpool hope that a bid of £48million, plus £4million in addons, will be enough to secure the playmaker’s signature before France’s final warm-up fixture against the United States tomorrow.
The club’s medical staff are on alert, ready to travel to Paris to complete the formalities today if they are given the green light.
Jean-michel Aulas, the Lyon president, offered little encouragement when speaking yesterday. “The deal is at a standstill. Nothing has happened,” he said. “The whole thing will certainly not be completed during the World Cup, and I don’t think anything will change before it. We haven’t set a starting price because we haven’t discussed that yet.”
However, there was movement on Merseyside after those comments. Fekir is the player Liverpool want to fill the No10 role left vacant by Philippe Coutinho’s January move to Barcelona.
He can play in the front three or deeper in the middle of the pitch. With Brazilian Fabinho already signed to replace Emre Can, Fekir’s arrival would complete the bulk of Jurgen Klopp’s incoming transfer activity.
He would still like a goalkeeper, but the extravagant price for Roma’s Alisson means it is not a certainty that Klopp will get his prime target in this window. Liverpool’s manager may be more eager to allow Loris Karius to rehabilitate than many imagine, and there will be an opportunity for Danny Ward to push his first-team claims when he returns to pre-season training. Klopp has consistently demonstrated that if he cannot strike the right deal for the player he wants he will wait, regardless of the clamour from outside to fill a position.
Although he is also monitoring Xherdan Shaqiri’s situation at Stoke, Klopp wants to give Welsh youngster Harry Wilson the incentive to push for a first-team place. Swiss winger Shaqiri is of interest, but not a priority at the moment.
Gary Rowett, the Stoke manager, said: “I want players who are committed to Stoke City – and if players want to leave, I will try and find the best solution to make that happen.”