Fresh Nabil Fekir transfer confession made by Lyon chief after Arsenal and Liverpool links

Fekir is entering the final 12 months of his contract with Lyon and has long been linked with a move away for over a year.

The 25-year-old almost joined Liverpool in a £53million deal last summer only to see the deal scrapped at the eleventh hour.

The Lyon captain had even gone as far to conduct interviews with Liverpool’s in-house media and was photographed in a Reds shirt.

But Liverpool had concerns with an old knee injury that they felt Fekir is likely to suffer repercussions with later in his career due to the quality of the surgery he had to repair the issue in 2015.

Yet with Fekir showing no sign of penning a new deal with the Ligue 1 club, it is expected he will depart for pastures new this summer.

Liverpool remain linked as a result of their previous interest but reports suggest the Merseyside club will not revisit a potential deal.

Yet The Mirror claimed earlier this month that Lyon have offered Fekir to Liverpool’s Premier League big six rivals Arsenal.

They say that the France international – who has contributed 49 goals and 29 assists across the last three seasons – could be available for a cut-price £30m fee.

Arsenal’s interest may depend on outgoings with Unai Emery working with a limited £45m budget and currently working on other deals, including the signings of Celtic left-back Kieran Tierney, Saint-Etienne centre-back William Saliba and Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha.

And ex-Brazil international Juninho – who won seven titles in eight years as a player at Lyon – has suggested that Fekir has asked to leave, despite declaring that Lyon have not given up hope of keeping their skipper in the Rhone Valley.

Speaking at a press conference to unveil new signing Youssouf Kone, Les Gones chief Juninho told reporters: “I spoke with Nabil Fekir. 

“I wanted to get to know him. The coach [Sylvinho] likes the player personally. 

“He’s an important person at the club: he’s trained here, he wears the captain’s armband, he’s also world champion 

“But, honestly, I think it’s going to be difficult to convince him to continue. His generation has gone away.

“It’s not a closed matter but I’m telling you the truth. We would like to keep him. For the moment, the only conceivable departure is his. 

“As long as he does not leave, we will work with him as if he were going to stay. 

“It’s up to him to think about it, to make a decision with his family. But the possibility that he leaves is a reality.”

Outspoken Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas said last month: “We are open to discussions, we leave the door ajar for Nabil but for the moment, there are no offers.”