Report: Real Madrid Considering Bid for Chelsea Target Nabil Fekir
Real Madrid has joined Chelsea in the race to sign Lyon captain Nabil Fekir in what could be the major transfer saga of the January window.
Lyon managed to hold on to Fekir last summer after a move to Liverpool fell through, but it does not look like the Frenchman will be a Ligue 1 player for much longer as speculation about his future intensifies.
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It was reported last week that Chelsea had tasked 'super agent' Pini Zahavi with negotiating a deal for Fekir and Zahavi has apparently already been in contact with the 25-year-old's representatives.
Contract talks between Lyon and Fekir have broken down and, with the player's contract expiring in 2020, Lyon may be forced to sell him either in January or next summer if they want to maximise their profits.
However, Chelsea will not have it all their own way as Marca report that Real Madrid is set to stage a strong bid of their own to sign Fekir in January.
The report claims that Los Blancos want an offensive midfielder who can play a similar role to Luka Modric in the future. Fekir would also be a good replacement for Isco, who has fallen out of favour at the Bernabeu under Santiago Solari.
Lyon may be able to hold off on selling Fekir until the summer due to the financial boost received from reaching the Champions League knockout stages.
In the meantime, Real Madrid's main focus is still on Exequiel Palacios. The River Plate starlet was expected to make the move to La Liga but there has been little progress in negotiations.
