Liverpool fans received some positive news on Monday evening when the Mirror reported that the club could revive their attempts to sign Nabil Fekir from Lyon.Fekir is still “desperate” to join Liverpool while, more importantly, Jurgen Klopp remains keen on signing the attacking-midfielder.The £53 million transfer broke down over the weekend after Fekir had undergone a medical with the Premier League club.The Reds were disturbed by the results of the medical tests and the move fell through.There are a number of alternatives to Fekir and many wondered if Liverpool would pursue Thomas Lemar, who they were linked with last summer.But any desire to sign Lemar was ended when Atletico Madrid reached a preliminary agreement with AS Monaco to sign the 22-year-old on Tuesday.“Over the next days, both clubs will work to close the agreement for the definitive transfer,” a statement on Atletico’s website read.
Liverpool fans react
With Lemar heading to Spain - L'Equipe claim Atleti will pay €72m for the player - Liverpool fans are still confident that a deal for Fekir could happen.
“I don’t believe for a second that we’d let that opportunity pass by if we’d given up on Nabil Fekir,” Twitter user @ClarkJamesYNWA wrote.
Fekir conducted an interview with Liverpool’s in-house television channel and had even reportedly chosen his squad number at Anfield.
He’s currently preparing for the World Cup with France but given how far along the Liverpool transfer was, there’s every chance his head is still on Merseyside.
The issue for Liverpool is that Fekir’s price tag and the number of clubs interested in signing him could increase if he shines in Russia.
The Mirror add that Liverpool plan to take a step back from pursuing any more transfers over the next few weeks as the World Cup gets underway.
The tournament presents a perfect opportunity for Klopp and his staff to do some scouting as they continue to refine the squad ahead of the 2018-19 season.
Naby Keita and Fabinho have already been brought in - they will officially become Liverpool players on July 1 - and it’s thought they are still targeting a replacement for Philippe Coutinho and a new goalkeeper.
This has the potential to be a game-changing transfer window for the Reds.