Lyon President Confident Nabil Fekir Will Stay But Adds 'Nothing is Ever Certain in Football'

Lyon chairman Jean-Michael Aulas is confident that his talisman Nabil Fekir will remain at his current club next season.

World Cup champion Fekir has exclusively played for Lyon since his debut in professional football back in 2013, gradually becoming an icon for the French side. His stay at Les Gones appeared to be in serious doubt, though, at the beginning of June.

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Liverpool courted the Frenchman in the early stages of the transfer window and were reportedly close to signing Fekir in a £53m deal with Lyon, with the move collapsing when the Reds were almost ready to announce their new player.

Fekir even conducted interviews with Liverpool's official website in preparation for his presentation but concerns over his knee injury in 2015 eventually stopped the negotiations. Following the 25-year-old's World Cup campaign, though, Klopp may insist once again on bringing the France national to Anfield Road.

Lyon president Aulas, however, is convinced that his star will not leave, in particular if no deal with another club is reached before the end of July.

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"I do not think that Fekir will leave," Aulas told Canal Football Club. "He’s one of the best in France – and in the world, since he’s a world champion. He’s a Lyonnais, so he’ll be there next season.

"Although in football, nothing is ever certain. I haven’t had the impression that he absolutely wants to leave. He’s 90% going to be at Lyon next season. If he hasn’t left by the end of July, he’ll stay."

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Fekir scored 45 goals in 115 appearances for Les Gones, demonstrating to be a fundamental player for the team. Aulas would like to keep him but he says it's not entirely up to him.

"It’s not the size of the offer that will make us change our position on Fekir, but the wishes of Nabil himself."