Liverpool Fire Opening Salvo in Midfielder Bidding War

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Liverpool may be close to ending their search for Philippe Coutinho’s successor, reports Le Parisien.

The French media outlet claims the Reds offered Olympique Lyonnais a deal worth €60m for attacking midfielder Nabil Fekir, 24.

Currently, with the France squad for this summer’s World Cup finals, Fekir grabbed 23 goals in 39 appearances last season, only his fifth with the club. It took his total goals to 37 goals in 88 during the past two campaigns.

He recently added his second international goal to his tally, scoring the final goal in the 2 – 0 win over the Republic of Ireland in the Stade de France. His first came during a 4 – 3 defeat to Belgium in 2015.

It’s expected Fekir will leave Lyon this summer. However, having qualified for the Champions League and being in good financial health, the French club are in no hurry to negotiate with Liverpool. The club is keen to delay talks until after the World Cup finals when a strong tournament strengthens their hand.

Jean-Michel Aulas, the majority owner of the club and president, is known to be a shrewd operator in the transfer market. In the past two seasons, he has sold Alexandre Lacazette to Arsenal and Samuel Umtiti to Barcelona for combined fees in the region of £75m; the pair cost Lyon nothing to buy as they were youth developed players.