NABIL FEKIR’s complicated Liverpool transfer saga is not yet over, according to the player’s agent.
The Frenchman’s hopes of moving to the Reds appeared dead earlier this month after the Premier League club pulled the plug on a £53million deal at the last minute.
Liverpool had agreed terms with Lyon over a prospective deal just before the start of the World Cup, where Fekir is representing France.
But though it appeared a formality that the play-maker would become Liverpool’s second summer signing having agreed personal terms and completed his medical, a delay in an expected announcement was later revealed to be due to unspecified concerns.
And those worries were enough for the Merseyside outfit to scrap the transfer altogether, even despite club staff having photographed 24-year-old Fekir in Liverpool kit and reportedly conducted media interviews.
While no single conclusion has been reached as to why the deal fell apart, widespread reports indicate that Liverpool had fears over a serious knee injury that Fekir suffered three years ago.
He has played two full seasons since the initial issue but also underwent a minor operation in March, with some suggesting Liverpool are concerned the problem is not wholly dealt with.
And though Fekir’s agent, Jean-Pierre Bernes, didn’t reveal any further details as to why the transfer collapsed - he indicated that it could be revisited after the end of the World Cup.
Talking on French TV channel La Chaine Info, the agent said: “He (Fekir) didn't sign because uh, it is not over! This is not the end of the story.”
Liverpool have also been heavily linked with Stoke City and Switzerland wide-man Xherdan Shaqiri and Moses Simon of KAA Gent.
But it is thought that neither are direct alternatives to Fekir - who was viewed as the club’s first-choice No 10 target to fill the void left by Philippe Coutinho’s January departure to Barcelona.
Since the deal was scrapped, it has been unclear whether Liverpool would go back in for Fekir after the end of France’s World Cup campaign - although Bernes’ comments offer fresh hope that the situation could yet be recovered.
However, in a statement two weeks ago, Lyon said: “Although Liverpool have been the priority of a possible transfer for Nabil, Olympique Lyonnais is delighted to be able to count on the presence of our captain, who is a leading player for the 2018-19 season when the club will play in the Champions League.”
West Ham’s Manuel Lanzini is another who was thought to be on Jurgen Klopp’s radar as he looks for a creative midfielder, but the Argentine attacker ruptured his cruciate ligament on the eve of the World Cup.
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