Lyon have opted for a 4-3-1-2 formation recently, and with the lack of wide players in the formation it is down to Fekir as the playmaker to provide that width for the team. As you can see from the heatmaps above Fekir is comfortable attacking from either side of the pitch and operates in the space provided by the two pacey strikers in Bertrand Traore and Memphis Depay. He also does take up some deeper roles on the pitch, either winning the ball back or picking up the ball to start the attack.The Frenchman made his national team debut on March 26th 2015 and since then has made 10 appearances for Les Bleus scoring once in a 4-3 loss to Belgium. Despite this his club form means that Fekir is in with a really good chance of appearing at this years World Cup and hopefully Liverpool can complete a deal before the tournament starts.How does Fekir compare to what we have now?Since the departure of Coutinho many have lamented the lack of creativity from Liverpool’s midfield, Milner has done his part with assists and Oxlade-Chamberlain has looked promising but with the age of Milner and Oxlade-Chamberlain starting a long road to recovery from a knee injury the lack of creative midfielders is evident. Fekir would not be used to playing in a considerably deeper role of a midfield three but with time under Jurgen Klopp’s coaching the Frenchman should easily be able to adapt and provide a creative spark from deep.
Whilst Fekir does have the advantage in being deployed further forward for Lyon this year, there’s the opposing argument that he would higher quality players to provide chances for if he were to move to Liverpool. With Fekir’s passing ability and Salah/Mane’s pace then there should be no reason why Lyon’s captain shouldn’t be able to recreate these assists numbers in a red shirt.
What provides more evidence is the total of key passes all the players make per 90 minutes for their clubs, Milner leads the way in assists with Fekir not too far behind but in terms of key passes and creating clear chances Fekir leads by some way when compared to the rest of Liverpool’s midfield options.
One of Liverpool’s biggest problems is when they come up against two banks of four and a team that plays for the draw, after a while Liverpool start to run out of options and pass the ball sideways without any penetration. Whilst the arrival of Naby Keita will also help in this, Fekir trumps the rest of the midfield when it comes to picking the ball up and dribbling past opponents.Fekir’s versatility will also be a big help for Jurgen Klopp’s team, during his time at Lyon; Fekir has played in attacking midfield, right wing and even as the out and out striker. Should one of the front three get injured then Fekir would easily be able to fit in further forward and we can bring one of the many midfield options into the starting XI.
Fekir would have a tough time replicating the form of Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino in front of goal this season, but as shown in the graphic above his minutes per goals is actually lower than what Sadio Mane’s is in what is the Senegalese’s best season numbers wise in England. If you consider that sort of goal scoring threat from a member of the midfield three as well, it gives the opposition another big threat to think about.
The story is exactly the same when you look at the amount of assists each player has managed, Fekir is Lyon’s biggest threat going forward but with the amount of chances Liverpool create you can see his numbers improving should he switch over to Merseyside.
Considering that the front three have a combined 35 asssists, Nabil Fekir coming out on top for key passes per 90 minutes gives an excellent idea at the potential extra threat he could add to this Liverpool side; if he’s making more key passes than anyone else and they’re falling to established goalscorers like Salah and Firmino his assists numbers should only be on the rise.So what does Fekir bring to Liverpool?Should Nabil Fekir decide to work under Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool will have pulled off an outstanding signing; the attacking midfielder ticks so many boxes from a Jurgen Klopp type player and is a ready made replacement of Phillipe Coutinho. His time as Lyon captain provides another leader on the pitch too, something Liverpool need more of and you see the benefit of it since the arrival of Virgil Van Dijk.Speaking of the Dutch defender, we’ve got a player who is a colossus in the air yet nobody to provide for him. Fekir brings that, his world class set piece ability makes us a threat from every corner and free-kick.This one signing also boosts the squad depth in so many positions, it gives us a player who can play in midfield, on the wing and even as a straight up number 9 should a player end up injured or suspended.In the current market, if Liverpool can bring someone with Fekir’s ability and consistency into their squad; then it will look like a real bargain in no time.Article by Louis ConnorTwitter: @Loui_ConnorFor more Redmen TV content including podcasts, subscriber exclusives and three new shows every week subscribe now and get your first month for FREE bit.ly/RMTVjoin 
