Chelsea Tipped to 'Open Talks' Over Nabil Fekir Deal When Lyon Arrive in London for Friendly

Chelsea have been tipped to use Tuesday night's friendly against Lyon at Stamford Bridge as an opportunity to conduct talks with the French club over a possible late swoop for highly rated forward and World Cup winner Nabil Fekir.

Fekir was on the verge of joining Liverpool earlier this summer until concerns over a medical saw the deal scrapped. And with the Reds seemingly not looking to resurrect their approach, sudden Chelsea interest in the player emerged just this week.

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According to the Daily Express, Chelsea are now eyeing a negotiating opportunity when Lyon are in town and will look to 'open talks' with officials from the Ligue 1 side just two days before the summer transfer window closes for Premier League clubs.

A value of £55m has been put on a potential deal.

Fekir himself won't actually be present at Stamford Bridge as he and two others have been left out of the travelling Lyon squad to 'recover'.

The 25-year-old, who scored 23 goals in all competitions last season, only returned to training on Monday following a delayed summer break because of his participation at the World Cup and is better served staying behind to work on his fitness.

Whether that absence makes things more challenging for Chelsea remains to be seen as the toughest aspect of any possible deal will likely be hammering out an agreement with notorious Lyon president Jean Michel Aulas.

Fekir did not rule out an exit when he spoke to Lyon's in-house media upon his return to training.

"As you can see, I am in Lyon. I am very good here. But the transfer window is still long (except for Premier League clubs) and everything goes very fast in football. We do not know what will happen in the future but I am very good at Lyon.

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"I feel great in the group. We have very good players, there is a good atmosphere. We live well and I hope that OL will have a great season."