The video produced by Liverpool announcing the incredible capture of Naby Keïta is unerringly similar to the one leaked a couple weeks ago featuring Nabil Fekir.
Any eagle-eyed Liverpool fan will have spotted the similarities between Naby Keïta’s first interview and the one with Nabil Fekir that never was.
Amidst the fanfare surrounding our new number 8, there’s a slight sense of sadness that the deal which appeared tantalisingly close has not yet come to pass.
The background, the font, the excitable player adorned in the famous red jersey; the sole difference is that “Baby Keith” is ours, while the Fekir signing remains perilously in the balance.
As of 9th June, both a fee and personal terms had been agreed. The player had undergone media duties, for many the final piece in the puzzle. All that was left was a catchy hashtag to announce the transfer, with the brilliant #FekirFriday doing the rounds.
Someone at the club (who has presumably since been relieved of their duties), leaked a picture of the prospective first interview. Yet there has been no signing permitting that interview to be released.
Many reasons have been cited for this; the knee issue, the infamously cantankerous Jean Michael-Aulas and the timing with the World Cup on the horizon. Nothing conclusive has surfaced, and with the club remaining completely schtum, the saga has been left open to assumption.
That assumption has led many to the belief that this story isn’t over, words conveniently echoed by Fekir’s agent Jean-Pierre Bernes on the 18th of June. This runs contrary to the emphatic statement released by Lyon on the 9th June, which declared their “delight” at being able to count on Fekir for next season.
As Liverpool fans we want to believe that the agent is better informed than the club, and in this instance that is surely the case. Lyon have an obligation to try to reassure their fan-base, and Liverpool fans shouldn’t construe those attempts as truths. Listen to the agent. Positively interpret the silence of our club.
Fekir has rightly chosen to focus on his World Cup commitments, with his vague comments on international duty to be expected. His relative silence shouldn’t be mistaken as a lack of desire, solidified by the fact that no other clubs have attempted to usurp the deal (yet!).
In football, there is often a desire to look for an ulterior story. The simple fact is that a deal couldn’t be reached in time for the World Cup, and Fekir doesn’t want anything to interrupt the competition in its duration. That is understandable, and all we can hope is that France are knocked out by Argentina so that this “saga” can reach a favourable conclusion.
We deserve to see that first interview, and I remain hopeful that we will.
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