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News
Nabil Fekir latest should concern Liverpool attacker Xherdan Shaqiri
As reported by L’Equipe (), Lyon attacker Nabil Fekir will be allowed to leave the club this summer.
The forward apparently now has a ‘gentleman’s agreement’ with club president Jean-Michel Aulas.
The news will surely now lead to fresh speculation of a move to Liverpool, with the Reds having narrowly failed to land him last summer.
Fekir seemed all set to join in a £53 million deal, but the plug was pulled at the last minute and Fekir remained with Lyon.
It could be that Liverpool reignite their long-standing interest in the player in light of the reported gentleman’s agreement, and that would be bad news for one first-teamer in particular.
TBR’s view
If Liverpool go back in for Fekir this summer, then it could be disastrous for Xherdan Shaqiri.
The star, signed last summer in a £13 million deal from Stoke City (), has struggled for starts in the second half of the 2018/19 campaign.
He began well and looked like he could prove to be one of the signings of the summer, but the Switzerland international has faded.
Shaqiri has been left on the bench for the last five Premier League matches, and he also didn’t feature in either of the games against Bayern Munich in the Champions League.
Were Liverpool to acquire Fekir for the 2019/2020 campaign, then it would be difficult to see how Shaqiri would be able to build on his current rate of appearances and starts in particular.
The Frenchman is essentially an upgrade on Shaqiri, who plays in the same positions and with a similar style.