Jurgen Klopp pinpointed Nabil Fekir as a key target for Liverpool in 2018 and despite the Frenchman having agreed to the move, it sensationally collapsed as the midfielder told his side of the story
Nabil Fekir admitted he was baffled as to why his transfer to Liverpool collapsed. The Frenchman was a key target for Jurgen Klopp in the summer of 2018 and was looked at by fans as the replacement of Philippe Coutinho who had left for Barcelona earlier that year in January.
With a reported fee of £58.5million having been agreed with Olympique Lyon for Fekir‘s services, the attacking midfielder underwent a medical and had agreed personal terms with the Premier League giants.
But in a surprising twist, his impending move to Anfield collapsed with reports suggesting that it was a knee issue during Fekir’s medical that caused the transfer to break down.
He had missed a majority of the 2015/16 season after rupturing his right ACL during international duty before suffering two further knee injuries during his time in France.
The 31-year-old ended up staying one more season with his boyhood club before leaving the next summer to La Liga side Real Betis for a signficantly lower price of £18m.
Fekir – who earned 25 France caps between 2015 and 2020 – spoke out on his failed move to the Reds in 2019 as he dispelled rumours that it was the cause of knee that ended his dreams of playing for Liverpool.
“The truth, why the transfer to Liverpool did not work out, I don’t even know it myself,” Fekir said to French sports paper L’Équipe.
“I passed my medical and after that, they decided not to sign me after all. What was said is not the truth,” he insisted.
“My knee is good – I had a quick medical check at Clairefontaine – my knee wasn’t even mentioned. But the worst thing is the idea that people could suggest that it’s because of my family that the transfer didn’t happen.
“It’s a lie. But you have to live with it. The attempt to spread this pseudo physical problem into the world of course had an influence on other clubs potentially interested as well.”
Following the failed move, Fekir – who joined Al Jazira last year – had cut ties with his agent Jean-Pierre Bernes who claimed that it was the midfielder’s knee issues that was the problem.
Fekir would have joined Alisson Becker, Fabinho, Naby Keita and Xherdan Shaqiri at Liverpool who went on to win the Champions League in their first season in Merseyside.
An attacking midfielder has once again become a key target for the English champions who are closing in on securing Florian Wirtz. They’ve agreed a deal worth £116m, including add-ons, with Bayer Leverkusen to sign the German superstar.
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