Liverpool to battle Tottenham for French star: He’d add more punch to the attack

Liverpool are set to battle Tottenham Hotspur in the transfer window to sign Lyon attacking midfielder Nabil Fekir, it has been claimed.

The Reds have an important couple of weeks coming up as they can strengthen their squad further to stay ahead of Manchester City in the title race.

Fekir has been linked with the club before as well and was closed to joining the Reds before Liverpool pulled the plug on the deal last summer.

Tottenham have had quite a few injury woes of late and even though the club have barely any money to spend, they might look at stretching their resources, especially after the departure of Mousa Dembele to China.

Fekir’s contract with Lyon comes to an end in 2020, and Calciomercato claim Liverpool and Spurs are likely to go head to head for the Frenchman in the coming weeks.

Fekir would add more punch to the attack

Overdoing isn’t really Jürgen Klopp’s style in the transfer window, which is why the Liverpool boss doesn’t like buying players in the January window unless there is an absolute need.

Virgil van Dijk joined last summer because the Reds defence simply needed a presence, the same can’t be said about the attack as Liverpool have the second-best attack in the league and have scored 50 times in 22 games.

Having said that, teams do tend to drop off in the second half of the season as tiredness kicks in and Fekir’s addition would ensure the Reds have someone who they can call upon to make an impact.

There have been games where Liverpool have failed to take their chances in the final third and have relied on their defensive prowess for the narrow wins. Fekir’s addition might help the team become a bit more prolific in front of goal.

The Frenchman averaged more than two key passes in the Champions League this season and can score goals from midfield as well, which means he’s a complete package.

Liverpool have managed to integrate Xherdan Shaqiri pretty well, but Fekir’s addition would allow a more natural 4-2-3-1 with Firmino playing up top, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane on the wide areas, and Fekir playing behind the forward.

Obviously, the Frenchman will take time to adjust to the pace of the league as Klopp doesn’t throw a player in straight away, but he’d be a valuable addition to the club that are hoping to end their long title wait this season.

Stats via Whoscored