Chelsea rejected chance to gazump Liverpool in race for €65m France star

Oli Fisher

Chelsea turned down the opportunity to sign Nabil Fekir this summer, according to Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas.

The France playmaker was close to a switch to Anfield, with a £53million fee agreed between the two clubs.

However, the proposed deal to take the 24-year-old Merseyside was pulled over an old knee injury which showed up on the player’s medical, with the Reds subsequently trying to renegotiate a reduced fee.

Since then, Aulas has spoken regularly about Liverpool’s failure to sign his star man, touting him as a target for Real Madrid.

Now, Aulas has once again discussed the situation surrounding Fekir over the summer, revealing that Chelsea were not interested in the €65m-rated star.

“We thought that he [Fekir] was practically gone. That’s why we have been able to adapt things.

“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 he would stay].”

 

Fancy the latest news on the Blues? Like our dedicated Chelsea Facebook page to get it straight to your timeline.