Arsenal FC have reportedly contacted Olympique Lyonnais over a possible transfer of World Cup winner Nabil Fekir. The North London club has displayed interest to bring the Frenchman to the Premier League for the upcoming season.
Merseyside club Liverpool FC had almost signed Fekir last summer but the transfer fell through over medical concerns of a knee injury . With there being no discussions of a contract extension for the attacking midfielder with his current club, Fekir seems to be on the move this summer and he could find his new home at the Emirates stadium.
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Arsenal have been known to be a bit conservative in the transfer market and like every time have a limited transfer budget for the upcoming season too. Having just signed 18-year-old Gabriel Martinelli for around £6 million, a lot of the future signings would depend on who the Gunners can possibly offload, especially after having lost Aaron Ramsey to Juventus for free. One such player that Arsenal would be keen to offload is Mesut Ozil. The German play maker has given a series of lackluster performances and has been in poor form off late thus proving to be a burden for the club financially due to his £350,000 per week wage.
Arsenal seem to be open to hearing offers for Ozil in order to cash in on the play maker in order to make additional funds available for Unai Emery to strengthen the squad. However, the club have not received any formal approach for the 30-year-old player and as a result signing Fekir would seem to be a huge task for the North London club.
Wilfried Zaha was identified as a primary target for Arsenal but their limited budget and Crystal Palace’s asking price of £80 million makes the move seem highly unlikely. However, according to reports, as an alternative, Arsenal have been offered the chance to sign Nabil Fekir from Lyon who are willing to sell him for just £30 million. Fekir has just one year left on his current contract with Lyon and the French club are therefore willing to sell him for a very less price rather than losing him for free in 2020.
Fekir had an underwhelming season at Lyon having scored just 12 goals in all competitions, half of what he had scored the season before. With Lyon manager Bruno Genesio claiming that the injury and his failed transfer to Liverpool had a negative impact on him and that the player needs a new challenge, the scope for Fekir to remain at the French club seems minute.
It’s up to Unai Emery now on how efficiently he can manage the funds and to assess if signing the Lyon captain would be worth the risk.