£61.5million transfer deal: Chelsea, Liverpool in race to pay

Liverpool are reportedly looking set to beat Chelsea to the transfer of Lyon attacking midfielder Nabil Fekir in a £61.5million deal this summer.

This comes after Reds boss Jurgen Klopp met personally with the France international, according to Canal Plus journalist Romain Collet-Gaudin on Twitter. This follows speculation from L’Equipe that Liverpool and Chelsea were among the clubs in for Fekir after his tremendous form in Ligue 1 this season.

Liverpool don’t exactly look short of quality in attack after their fine run of form this season, with the goal-scoring exploits of Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino guiding them to the Champions League final.

Still, having lost key playmaker Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona in January, there does look to be room for more depth in that area.

Fekir is also a quality player who shouldn’t be overlooked by any ambitious club this summer, with the 24-year-old weighing in with an impressive 22 goals and 8 assists in all competitions this season.

There’s no doubt he could command a place in Klopp’s side and it looks as though the German has helped Liverpool pip Chelsea to an exciting deal here.