Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas has revealed Chelsea turned down the chance to sign Liverpool target Nabil Fekir this summer.
The 2018 World Cup winner was a top transfer target for Liverpool at the start of the summer and Fekir even underwent a medical and agreed personal terms with Jurgen Klopp’s side.
Liverpool tried to re-structure their previously agreed terms with Lyon following concerning medical results before the French side pulled the plug on a deal.
Lyon quickly shut the door on Fekir’s departure and announced he would stay at the club for the forthcoming campaign.
However, Lyon’s president has sensationally revealed the club tried to offload the 25-year-old to Liverpool’s rivals Chelsea.
“In the beginning when we thought about our summer transfer window and how to oranges the future squad, we though that he [Fekir] was practically gone,” Sky Sports quote Aulas as saying.
“That’s why we have been able to adapt things. We spoke with Chelsea’s representatives, and they had no interest at all in him. From then on, we realised we could change our plans [as he would stay].”
Fekir has been eased back into action for Lyon this season, managing 11 minutes as a substitute in their 2-0 win over Strasbourg last weekend.
The Lyon captain enjoyed a sensational campaign last season, scoring 18 goals and providing eight assists in 30 league appearances.
Not only that, but he finished the season with 12 WhoScored Man of the Match awards in Ligue 1 and a WhoScored rating of 7.86.
