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Football News: Nabil Fekir - Alternative Options for Liverpool FC

Nabil Fekir - Alternative Options for Liverpool FC
Image from: sportsmole.co.uk

The biggest "will he, won't he" saga of the summer so far is seemingly at a crossroads. It has seen an outpour of rage from the internets infamous keyboard warriors.

Olympique Lyonnais have issued a statement that seemingly puts any prospective transfer of Nabil Fekir to Liverpool FC, to bed. So the question on the tip of everyone's tongue is, "who is next?"

(I am not privy to inside transfer knowledge so please do not associate any of the following opinions with the Editors on the football rumours website)

Julian Draxler

We'll start with a player that is a genuinely strong possibility. Draxler is a dynamic attacking midfielder who likes to run at people and can also cover across the front line. PSG are certainly prepared to sell him. The perfect stand in for Fekir?

Well not quite. Fekir is very hard working and Draxler just isn't. His talent is unquestionable. This is a player who made a national team with enough quality to exclude the likes of Leroy Sané and Emre Can.

Draxler's problem is simply that he doesn't work hard enough off the ball. A pretty essential trait for a Jurgen Klopp player is to press, so you have to question whether he would be willing to pull his finger out at 24 years old, after an extended jolly at the Moulin Rouge.

He will score goals. He will create goals. He will produce moments of magic. If Klopp could get him to try, he could easily become one of the best attacking midfield players in the world.

Julian Brandt

Another Julian, another German. Like Draxler, Brandt also made the national squad. Unlike Draxler, Brandt is better on the wing than in attacking midfield.

However, Brandt is an infinitely harder working player with more pace to burn. Though I'd hardly call it blistering, he can pull away from players when he opens up into his long stride.

Brandt is a superb technical dribbler and his vision is equally as good. What he lacks is a lethal streak in front of goal. He has a penchant for dragging his shots and he does lack composure.

He's young enough to improve on that though, and with Bayer Leverkusen failing to make the Champions League, they might be more open to letting a player they have nurtured chase his dreams at the top of the game.

Jesús Fernández Sáenz

Who? Come on guys... It's Suso! Though there is no confirmed interest from Liverpool's side, Suso has made it perfectly clear that he is open to a return to Anfield.

Suso would actually be a very good alternative to Fekir. He works hard, has a wand of a left foot from open play and dead balls, and he creates chances for his team mates; more so than Fekir actually.

What Suso lacks, is pace. That means he doesn't get in behind enough to be a regular goalscorer. His vision and passing range could be a fantastic weapon with the speed Liverpool break at though. He has the quality to launch the attacks, and he is at least quick enough to keep up in support.

Would Liverpool be interested? Who can say but Klopp and his transfer committee? I certainly think Suso should at least be considered. He has star quality and knows the club well. It wouldn't be beyond the realms of possibility if Liverpool were interested.

Mario Götze

Like with Suso, this is another case of the interest being from the player. It is a nice change to have players seemingly keen to join the club. Especially world class, world cup winners like Götze.

Though his reputation has been dented by a couple of years in the wilderness which nearly ended his career, Götze has made a come back to the game (thank god). In a recent interview he made pretty clear his desire to work with Klopp again.

Götze is a special player. He sees things others do not, he is always one step ahead of everyone else on the pitch, and his technical ability is probably second only to that of Lionel Messi and Andreas Iniesta. It is a travesty that such an incredible star has fallen so far.

If Liverpool were interested in helping Götze to revive his career and rediscover the world class ability he has within him, then it feels like a deal which they could make happen. He'd certainly be a great player to have behind the front three if he can find his form.

Max Meyer

Meyer is freely available this summer and there has been interest from Liverpool in the past. Though he reinvented himself as a deeper player last season, there is no doubt that he could easily reprise his preferred role behind the forwards.

Meyer is one of those players who seems to glide across the turf. He's not fast, but his movement is so smooth and that makes him a nightmare to pick up. He plays with a lot of freedom which would suit Klopp's interchanging system to a tee.

This is a deal which simply has to be explored. He was arguably a better choice than Fekir from the start. He offers just as much versatility at a much better price, with more potential. Interest seems to have waned though.

That is possibly because every silver lining has a cloud. Meyer isn't really a goalscorer or a set piece specialist; arguably two important factors missing from Liverpool's midfield. In terms of linking the midfield and attack in open play though, he is the best available fit.

Robert Lewandowski

I know, massively left field but just hold on! Lewandowski is not an attacking midfielder. I know that so please give me a chance to explain. Klopp occasionally explored variations of 4-4-2 and 4-2-3-1 last season; two systems which the lethal Pole could slot into seamlessly.

Now I know what you are all thinking. We've tried a Pole up front and Christian Benteke was useless. Ahh no, wait, he was a different kind of 'pole'. My bad.

Lewandowski would be the perfect foil for the current front three at Liverpool. He could alleviate some of the pressure on them to score goals and allow them to simply focus on their brilliant all around game.

Lewandowski wants to leave Bayern Munich for a new challenge and although Liverpool are currently not in the running at all, things change fast in football and if he were to become available like Fabinho did, who knows what could happen. He has a great rapport with Klopp after all.

Thomas Lemar

Lemar is coming off the back of an indifferent season for AS Monaco. He was still very good for a young player, but he seemed badly affected by the loss of key players. Maybe he was jealous he had to stay, or maybe he couldn't cope with more pressure to be the star?

Lemar takes a brilliant set piece, and his passing range continues to be severely under rated. He is not just your average winger and he could easily play in the midfield three at Liverpool.

The problem with this option, is that Liverpool and Lemar both seem to have moved on. Monaco wanted more money than he was worth, and everybody has got on with their lives.

It is unlikely we will see a revival of interest from Liverpool, but nothing in football is impossible. Lemar still has the quality and the huge potential.

Xherdan Shaqiri

Bleurgh!

I suppose I should make an effort to list his strengths for the sake of balance. He, err, has a good appetite? Big calf muscles? A cool name?

I really hope this doesn't happen. In fairness he can hit a dead ball superbly with his left foot, but the last time we signed an overweight left footed player purely because he could take set pieces and occasionally scored a great goal, we ended up with Charlie Adam!

Please, have mercy Jurgen.

Moses Simon

A hugely unknown quantity, but a player whose name just keeps cropping up. Simon is a lightning fast winger who can play either side of a front three and adapts his game to what his team needs.

According to his former coaches, he has a habit of scoring great goals. My fear is that a scorer of great goals is not necessarily a great goal scorer.

For the price being suggested, you get the impression that Simon would be considered as squad depth rather than a Fekir alternative.

Simon's club would not be in a financial position to reject a big offer and the player would almost certainly push for the move. If Liverpool want to make this deal happen, it looks like they could seal it relatively quickly with the player not being at the World Cup.

Ousmane Dembele

According to the latest reports, Dembele doesn't want to leave and FC Barcelona don't want to sell. Yet rumours continue to rumble on.

The latest rumour is of a two year loan deal which just seems ridiculous to me. Football is a funny old game though so I wouldn't rule it out entirely.

Dembele has blistering pace, and superb balance about his play. He is comfortable on either foot, and will drift anywhere across the frontline throughout a game. That makes him very hard to defend against in one on one situations, and near impossible to man-mark.

In truth, he'd be fantastic in Klopp's system but it may require a change in tactics. He is not an attacking midfielder and he doesn't work hard enough defensively. It seems very unlikely it will happen, regardless.

Bruno Fernandes

Fernandes is a supremely talented player who hasn't ever had any major injury worries or attitude problems. He's a hard working young player and with the turmoil at Sporting CP, he could be very attainable. Keep an eye out for him at the World Cup.

Liverpool scouts have watched the player this season so he is in the club's thoughts if nothing else. What they will have seen is a very dynamic player who can run with the ball or make the ball do the work. He is good with both feet, and also takes superb set pieces.

Much like a lot of the other alternatives, he isn't blessed with searing pace, but he is still a very mobile player. His slight frame coupled with his lack of pace does make him a bit of a risk though.

Fernandes would likely be open to a move so if Liverpool scouts liked what they saw, they should make a move before somebody else does. He is probably the closest to Phillipe Coutinho in terms of style of all the players listed.

Anderson Talisca

Talisca is a bit of a monster if I'm honest. He hasn't got the greatest touch, but he is so quick (probably faster than any player in Liverpool's current squad) and physical that he tends to bully his way past people with what looks like accidental brilliance.

What he has that not many attacking midfielders nowadays can say, is superb timing. He times his runs into the box as well as Steven Gerrard or Frank Lampard once did. He is actually a bit of a throwback to be honest, as he's superb in the air too.

His bullish approach is even more surprising when you see how good Talisca is at passing. He is fully capable of hitting a raking cross field pass with pace and accuracy. Equally, he can drive a shot in from range, and whip in a set piece.

With Besiktas failing to activate their option to sign Talisca at the end of his loan, he is well and truly on the market. If the Fekir deal is dead in the water, Talisca offers something different, but equally as brilliant.

Nabil Fekir

Yes people, you read that right. A potential alternative to the potential alternatives is to simply sit down with Lyon again and give them what they want.

The deal should have been wrapped up by now, but for whatever reason it crashed and burned, apparently at the final hurdle. It would be a shame if the deal dies this horrible death, but not the end of the world.

Fekir could give Liverpool a little bit of everything they lack. Depth up front, a set piece specialist, someone to link play, creativity in midfield, and someone who works hard. Klopp has a history of waiting patiently for the player he thinks he needs.

Hopefully the door isn't completely bolted shut, but for all we know there may be a very good reason for negotiations to have ceased. In the meantime, there are plenty of alternative options for Liverpool to at least explore.

Written by Adam Jones June 11 2018 18:12:23

 

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