According to the Daily Mail UK, Maurizio Sarri is very interested in bringing French playmaker Nabil Fekir to Stamford Bridge before the January transfer window ends as he looks to strengthen his attacking options.
Nabil Fekir is the latest player to be on Chelsea’s list of players who they would like to sign in the January transfer window. AC Milan’s Gonzalo Higuain and Dortmund’s Christian Pulisic have also been on Sarri’s radar.
Fekir, who won the World Cup with France, was set for a move to Liverpool in the summer worth 52.75 million euros but the deal fell through and he stayed with Lyon. His contract with the French club will expire in the summer of 2020, but Chelsea will be looking to pay less than 52 million euros for him if they can string together a deal in January. If the Blues couldn’t get Fekir before the transfer window closes, he could still be an option for them in the summer after the season ends.
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Fekir has been outstanding for Lyon this season, netting seven times and tallying four assists in 17 appearances across all competitions. He poses a serious attacking threat and has the ability to score goals and set them up, a very attractive trait to Chelsea who is in need of a player like him.
What he can bring to the Blues
Chelsea has struggled to finish this season, evident in their 1-0 loss to Leicester City over the weekend where Marcos Alonso and Eden Hazard both found the woodwork on simple opportunities to finish. Alvaro Morata has been disappointing up front this year and Olivier Giroud isn’t an everyday striker anymore. They are in dire need of a true number nine.
Fekir is more of an attacking midfielder, but his skills could play up very well with Chelsea. He has experience playing up front, so he could also play up there if they needed him to. Where he excels the most though is right in the middle, using his vision to thread passes up to his strikers or surge towards the net and finish ruthlessly. The 25-year old has tremendous skill with the ball at his feet and his speed is lethal in the final third. Despite his small stature, he is solid on the ball and plays very physical.
Higuain and Fekir in January would be ideal
Maurizio Sarri arrived late in the summer, so he didn’t really have the chance to sign a lot of players. Their squad is relatively the same as last year, but now Sarri is looking to make a splash in January by signing several attacking threats.
Reports also surfaced earlier this week that Sarri is looking for a reunion with AC Milan frontman Gonzalo Higuain, whom he coached at Napoli from 2013-16. The Argentinian has been a world-class finisher his entire career and would give Chelsea a true number nine. A swap deal could be involved with Higuain coming to England and Alvaro Morata heading to AC Milan.
Fekir would give Chelsea a quality attacking midfielder who is versatile in many ways as I mentioned above. Christian Pulisic is also a possible option for the Blues in January, but the Dortmund midfielder is valued at 60 million euros.
If Chelsea could even sign just two of these three players in January, it would certainly strengthen their club and help them contend for a top-three finish in the Premier League.