Reports: Chelsea have shown late interest in Lyon midfielder

What’s the rumour?

Chelsea has had a quiet transfer window so far this summer with their only signing being former Napoli man Jorginho. However, the uncertainty over Eden Hazard’s future at Stamford Bridge has left the new boss Maurizio Sarri on the lookout for a back-up and if a report from France Football is to be believed, the Premier League outfit has identified Lyon midfielder Nabil Fekir as a potential target.

In case you didn’t know

The French international was linked with a number of Europe’s biggest clubs following a spectacular season with Lyon that saw him rack up 24 goals and 9 assists across all competitions last term. It was Liverpool who looked to be the front-runner in securing Fekir’s services with a reported fee of £53 million.

However, what looked a done deal for much of the summer, only fell apart at the last minute following the midfielder’s medical at the Merseyside club.

As such, the 25-year-old still remains a Lyon player but a late interest from Chelsea means a transfer could be very much on the cards before the transfer window closes this Thursday.

The heart of the matter

With Liverpool not expected to return with another bid for Fekir, the West London outfit are on the driving seat to land the French midfielder.

He has long been considered as one of the finest talents in Ligue 1, and was even entrusted with the captain’s armband last summer.

The aforementioned report also goes on to state that Maurizio Sarri is keen to bring in a player who can play both in the midfield and at the front, with Fekir considered as the ideal candidate to do so.

On being asked about his future Fekir told Lyon’s official TV channel, he is happy to stay at the Ligue 1 club but didn’t deny the possibility of a move away from the club.

“As you can see, I’m still at Lyon. I’m very happy here,” he said.

“But the window is still open and things move quickly in football. One doesn’t know what will happen in the future but I’m good at Lyon and feel very happy within the squad.”

Rumour rating/probability: 5/10

With the premier League transfer window slated to close in just 3 days, there seems to have little time left for the deliberations to get underway from both sides. Therefore, it comes down to how serious Chelsea are to sign the French international. This could go either way as Chelsea would wait till the haze over Hazard’s future to clear before finalising such a deal.

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What's next?

Should Fakir make the move to Stamford Bridge, he would most likely be slotted into the first team straightaway in their Premier League opener against Huddersfield on Saturday.