Nabil Fekir was so confident of completing a transfer to Liverpool he had already chosen his new shirt number.
This is according to L’Equipe, who say the deal was so far along Liverpool had invited Fekir, the France attacker, to decide which number he would want to wear playing for the Anfield club.
Fekir looked set to be announced as a Liverpool player on Saturday, with a fee agreed between the Merseysiders and Lyon, the 24-year-old’s current club. He had reportedly put pen to paper on a five-year contract worth around £140,000-a-week.
However, Lyon released a statement on Saturday announcing that the move was off.