Liverpool won’t be signing Nabil Fekir this summer, sadly.
The deal was done, but at the very last minute, Liverpool discovered an underlying knee injury which meant the fee we were about to pay was too much of a risk.
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As a result, we need to turn our attention elsewhere.
The Echo have named five potential options and we’ve decided to rank them in order of suitability – least to most:
5) Christian Pulisic, Borussia Dortmund
The teenage American has huge potential, but right now, doesn’t represent value to money. Dortmund charge extortionate amounts for their players, as evidenced by the jaw-dropping £100m+ sale of Ousmane Dembele to Barcelona last summer. Pulisic would cost a similar amount, but wouldn’t even get in our best XI. As a result, combined with the fact he’s more comfortable on the wing, we think this one should be put on the back-burner.
4) Mario Gotze – Borussia Dortmund
The German has been described as the best player Klopp’s ever had by our manager and Gotze recently claimed to the Bundesliga website that his former boss had ‘taught him everything’. He seems to have peaked early though and isn’t even a regular starter for Dortmund after failing at Bayern Munich, aged 26. Long-term health concerns remain an issue, and the fact he rejected us in 2016 cannot be ignored, either.
3) Thomas Lemar – AS Monaco
Lemar was a massive target last summer, but the Frenchman’s simply not been playing that well since Monaco won the title in 2017. In Ligue 1 during 2017/18, he scored just two goals and registered eight assists – pretty poor considering what Fekir managed from a similar position. In all honesty, we’ll be underwhelmed with the 22-year-old, now.
2) Julian Draxler – PSG
Draxler possesses fantastic technical ability, can dribble, create and score goals. If he hadn’t have rejected us in 2017 for PSG, we’d be keener, actually. The German may have been more attainable if Unai Emery had kept his job, but Thomas Tuchel, another German, has taken charge, and Draxler suits his style of football.
1) Marcos Asensio – Real Madrid
The Spaniard is phenomenal, but we reckon he’s an unrealistic target. Asensio is potentially a world-beater, so why would Real Madrid sell? Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale are ageing. The 22-year-old is the future of the club and it’s not like they need the money. This one’s a fantasy signing, and not one we can see happening, despite the fact he’d be a jaw-dropping addition.