During the summer transfer window, Lyon midfielder Nabil Fekir was linked with Premier League giants Chelsea. There were strong rumours of his move to the Stamford Bridge, but his transfer failed to materialize.
Reports have emerged, stating that his exit from the ranks of the Ligue 1 outfit collapsed due to a knee injury. Nonetheless, the club also released a statement that Fekir would remain with Lyon for the 2018-19 campaign.
Interestingly, Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas has claimed that the Blues were never in the race to sign the French World Cup winner. Instead, he stated that Liverpool were close to luring Fekir to Anfield.
Aulas said: “We spoke with Chelsea representatives, and they had no interest at all in him. From then on, we realised we could change our plans [as Nabil would stay].” In all fairness, Chelsea’s midfield looks very strong at the moment.
Maurizio Sarri has been deriving fruitful results from the combination of N’Golo Kante, Jorginho and Mateo Kovacic and the likes of Cesc Fabregas, Danny Drinkwater, Ross Barkley and Ruben Loftus-Cheek are available as back-ups.
Therefore, signing the 25-year-old would have congested Chelsea’s ranks further. Chelsea have had a brilliant start to their life under Sarri as they have clinched nine points from their three league outings so far.