Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Chelsea transfer news: Lyon refuse to rule out Nabil Fekir move

Fekir was not present as Lyon fell to Chelsea in the Blues' final pre-season friendly on Tuesday

Wednesday 08 August 2018 09:34 BST
Comments
Chelsea 2018/19 Premier League profile

Lyon have refused to rule out Nabil Fekir leaving the club before the transfer deadline.

Liverpool were close to signing the French international earlier this summer before an 11th hour U-turn with Chelsea one of a number of clubs now said to be monitoring his situation as the clock ticks down.

Fekir was not present as Lyon fell to Chelsea in the Blues' final pre-season friendly on Tuesday night.

And speaking afterwards manager Bruno Genesio admitted his captain could yet leave the club.

“It’s too early to say [what will happen]," he said after the match. “He wanted to leave at the end of last season but came back to training yesterday and was happy.

“Who knows? There may be opportunities that come up before the end of the window. For now, he is a Lyon player.”

Fekir returned to training with Lyon on Monday after helping his country win the World Cup and, despite being happy at the Ligue 1 club, admitted he was unsure about his future.

"As you can see, I am in Lyon. I am very good here," he said. "But the transfer window is still long and everything goes very fast in football. We do not know what will happen in the future but I am very good at OL.

"I feel great in the group. We have very good players, there is a good atmosphere.

"We live well and I hope that OL will have a great season."

Fekir has recently returned from the World Cup

Liverpool's interest cooled after negotiations with Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas went sour in June but there remained a feeling that the Anfield club could return to the table if his asking price dipped even though the club insisted they had ended their interest.

Fekir, Lyon's captain, scored 18 league goals last season as well as providing eight assists to help his side finish third and secure Champions League qualification.

The 25-year-old foward then made six substitute appearances for France on their way to World Cup glory in Russia.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in