Nabil Fekir could now be off to Real Madrid

Nabil Fekir is back in the transfer gossip columns

The Lyon forward, currently on international duty with France at the World Cup, looked likely to be joining Liverpool earlier this month, only for the move to (eventually) fall through. Talk of a move to Anfield was resurrected by Fekir's agent last week, who claimed it could still happen before the close of the transfer window. If Liverpool are interested, it seems they may now have competition. Real Madrid, Jurgen Klopp's side's conquerers in Kiev last month, are said to be one of the clubs keeping tabs on Fekir. Speaking to French television, Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas denied claims that Fekir's move to Merseyside had fallen through due to concerns thrown up by a medical, instead saying that he had pulled the plug on the move after it dragged on for too long. Not only that, Aulas also added that this has now sparked the interest of Real (and other clubs), following the appointment of Julen Lopetegui as their new manager . "Yeah, listen, at that stage it was foreseen he would go to Liverpool, I had given it the green light to go ahead," Aulas told RT France  "But it just took too long, things were just too drawn out.

"He's an exceptional player, he keeps the ball in little space and has an incredible talent. The fact that things didn’t conclude with Liverpool and it didn’t happen in that timeframe has peaked the interest of a lot of other clubs - Real Madrid, but not just Real Madrid and their new trainer. "There is a lot of interest from other camps, so everything is possible."

Aulas went on to stress that he now wants Fekir to remain with the Ligue 1 side. It remains to be seen if Real - or any of the other clubs said to be interested - make a firm offer for Fekir.