€70m “exceptional player” very eager to agree Liverpool move

Liverpool still have not replaced Brazilian international Philippe Coutinho after letting him leave the club in the January transfer window.

The Reds were close to signing Nabil Fekir from Lyon but earlier this month, the French club stopped the negotiations with the Merseysiders.

According to recent statements made by Lyon president Aulas, other top clubs are now linked with the Les Bleus playmaker and the Ligue 1 side are making efforts to keep him at the club (Mirror Sport). Aulas said:

Read: Liverpool make third big move to finally sign playmaker

“He (Fekir) is an exceptional player, he keeps the ball in little space and has an incredible talent. The fact that things didn’t conclude with Liverpool and it didn’t happen in that timeframe has peaked the interest of a lot of other clubs – Real Madrid, but not just Real Madrid and their new trainer.

He added: “My objective is to get him to stay – the players are like sons to me and I hope to persuade him to stay. But if he absolutely wishes to leave, then we will try to find the biggest club to match his talent.”

The original agreement with Liverpool was worth €60m (Mirror Sport) but now, Aulas is looking to get around €70m (Liverpool Echo).

As per the provided Mirror Sport link, Fekir is very eager to agree a move to Liverpool and the deal could still happen.

The 24-year-old attacking midfielder played 40 games in all competitions for his home town club last season and directly contributed in 31 goals.

The French star deservedly earned his place in Deschamps’ squad for the World Cup but so far, he has mainly warmed the bench in the competition and has only featured for 30 minutes in the first two games against Australia and Peru.