Report – Liverpool will attempt to get signing done for less than £53million – Face competition
Liverpool are once again linked with French international and Lyon star Nabil Fekir.
According to an exclusive report published by The Sunday Express, last year, The Reds almost signed the Les Bleus playmaker for £53million but Klopp will attempt to get him for a lower fee this time around.
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The British source have revealed that Man City have also joined the race to sign Fekir and Lyon are hoping to get somewhere near the £53million they wanted last year.
What happened last year:
Before the start of the 2018 World Cup, the Ligue 1 playmaker was perhaps very close to moving to Liverpool. If reports from last year are anything to go (Mirror Sport) by then the Reds had agreed a fee with Lyon and secured terms with the attacker as well.
However, after the medical, Liverpool had concerns over a knee injury that the player suffered few years back (The Telegraph) and Lyon opted to end the negotiations with the Merseysiders.
Fekir’s playing position and stats:
Fekir mainly plays in the hole behind the striker. This season, Lyon has mostly used the 25-year-old star in the following two positions:
- Central Attacking Midfield
- Secondary Striker
He featured in 39 games in all competitions for the French club, scored 12 goals and provided 9 assists. In the Champions League, he was impressive in the group stages as he directly contributed in 5 goals in as many starts. (Stats via Transfermarkt).
In the opening CL contest vs Manchester City, the Lyon captain scored a goal and provided an assist to help his side earn all three points at the Etihad Stadium.
Coutinho’s replacement:
The Sunday Express have revealed that Liverpool could return to finally sign Fekir to replace Coutinho.
Liverpool sold the Brazilian international in the winter transfer window of 2018 and lured Van Dijk, moreover, in the summer (2018), the Reds signed Alisson and last night, the two big money signings helped the Reds win their 6th European Cup.
Klopp has not replaced the former Inter Milan playmaker as yet. The Samba star played for us in multiple attacking and midfield positions. Before joining Barca, he directly contributed in 20 goals in as many games in the 2017-18 campaign for Liverpool (Transfermarkt).
In all fairness, the Anfield club have not missed Coutinho at all but I do agree with club legend Phil Thompson (Sky Sports via The Metro), who recently claimed that the Reds should continue to improve and strengthen the squad while they are on top.
Have your say – Should Liverpool move to sign Nabil Fekir?
Sure for £8.5 million
Having a big squad is very important in winning championship. Man City won because they have a deeper squad, we could have won it had we just beaten man united at old Trafford when our key men fired blank on that day.
Not at all …. Liverpool’s Klopp need an athlete and Fekir is not. In France, he scored 12 with 9 assists. In England, he would not do better than half of that.
I don’t think we need Fekir, our midfield should be strong next season with Keita, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Fabinho, Henderson, Milner and Wijnaldum. That’s six players for 3 positions. Unless one leaves there is no need for another.
Also the idea that we need to replace Coutinho is laughable. He was shoe horned into the formation as it was. Purely because he was a quality player. Now we have quality players that also play in the style that Klopp wants.
I feel we need some cover for the full backs and an attacker to add depth up top. Maybe a replacement for Mignolet if he leaves. Really can’t see much other business worth doing. The team is so strong already.
Ferguson’s tenure at Man Utd should teach us something.. never rest on your laurels.. always look to strengthen when you’re doing well.
Imo our midfield is still our weak link. It changes based on opponent and who’s fit, but we tend to play a holder, a roamer and an attacker or link player. That’s fine, but we’ve struggled to control games this season because our midfield doesn’t hold the ball well under pressure. Sure there’s plenty of games in there where we had 60%+ possession but those were because of the growing trend of “little fish” teams ceding the ball in favour of a well-structured defensive shape… i’d argue that we didn’t genuinely control those games, not while the games remain scoreless and the opposition are doing what they planned to do.
Keita is ok as the “attacker” but still finding his feet in the league and better suited as the roamer for me if he can improve his overall awareness. Ox is only just fit again and could conceivably be used as rotation for the front 3.. all being well. Shaq might have been converted to that role, but Klopp doesn’t seem to want to use him that way.. or much at all really.
I’m not gonna say we need a “Coutinho replacement”. He was having a nice purple patch when we sold him, but in truth he was always pretty inconsistent (he wasn’t and still isn’t Eriksen or Modric), but we do need a proper link player.. someone who can hold the ball high up the field under pressure while still being aware of forward passing options, someone who can be an intermediate out-ball when we’re being pushed back, someone who can actually BE a link player, someone who will make our midfield tick rather than just being a space between our great defense and deadly attack.
I don’t know if Fekir is that player, I haven’t watched enough of him.. other than the usual Youtube montages and occasional 90 minutes in Europe, and that’s before we even get into the injury complications that threw a spanner in the works of the transfer last summer… but if not Fekir, then someone.. always keep looking.
We need back up midfield because midfield always injured or suspend so we need nabil fekir