Real Madrid are reportedly set to make a move for French attacker Nabil Fekir, who was a top transfer target for Liverpool in the summer.
As per reports from French outlet L’Equipe (h/t Mirror), reigning European champions Real Madrid have identified Olympique Lyon captain Nabil Fekir as a top transfer target.
Fekir had been on the radars of Liverpool all summer, with the Reds understood to have been close on securing his signing in a £60 million deal. However, they decided to pull the plug on the transfer, owing to concerns over an old injury.
Liverpool’s fellow Premier League rivals Chelsea were offered a chance to sign the Frenchman, but the Blues reportedly passed up the opportunity and Fekir ended up staying put at Lyon.
Having lifted the 2018 FIFA World Cup with France in the summer, the 25-year old is enjoying a fine start to the 2018-19 campaign. Fekir, so far, has scored three goals and set up two more for his teammates in five appearances across all competitions.
The attacker was at the heart of Lyon’s shock 2-1 triumph over Manchester City in the UEFA Champions League last week at the Etihad.
Impressed by his displays over the past year or so, Real Madrid have set their sights on making a move for the France international either in the January transfer window or in the next summer.
After having sold Cristiano Ronaldo to Juventus in the summer window, Los Blancos scoured the transfer market for a marquee attacking addition, but came up short with top transfer targets Neymar, Kylian Mbappe, Eden Hazard all staying put at their respective clubs.
In the end, the reigning European champions ended up re-signing former striker Mariano Diaz from Lyon in order to provide competition to Karim Benzema at the tip of the attack.
Real Madrid president Florentino Perez remains keen on making a Galactico signing however, and sees Fekir as a more realistic target than the aforementioned superstars and is willing to sanction a move at the earliest possible.
Fekir will be entering the final year of his contract with Lyon in the next summer and as a result, the Ligue 1 side might be forced into cashing in on their superstar, should they fail to extend his contract before the end of the season.
And with Real Madrid lurking, a transfer away from France seems a very strong possibility. However, it is highly unlikely that any move will take place halfway through the season in January.
