‘There was interest…’ – £43m winger says he ‘thought about’ potential Liverpool move in summer | OneFootball

One of the most highly-rated young wingers has confirmed that Liverpool had shown genuine interest in him during the summer transfer window.

L’Equipe reported in June that the Reds were in talks with the agents of Lyon winger Malick Fofana, who the Ligue 1 club valued at €50m (£43.4m), and those links continued well into July before subsiding in more recent weeks.

The 20-year-old has remained at the Groupama Stadium for the time being despite abundant summer speculation, and he admitted to giving consideration to approached from two Premier League sides.

Fofana opens up about Liverpool transfer interest

Speaking to Belgian outlet Het Belang van Limburg (via Sport Witness), the youngster confirmed that both Liverpool and Chelsea had taken an interest in him during the off-season, but he felt that his development is best served by staying put.

Fofana said: “There was interest from those two clubs, but ultimately it wasn’t concrete enough. I’ve thought about a transfer, but I think it’s more important now that I play a lot, and that has to happen at Lyon. Because I still have progress to make.”

(Photo by Emmanuele Ciancaglini/Getty Images)

Could Fofana be an option for Liverpool in the future?

The Belgium international appears to boast plenty of raw potential, with Emilio Ferrara – his former under-21 coach at Genk – hailing him as ‘the greatest talent I ever trained’, and the winger has accrued 16 goals in 65 appearances so far at Lyon.

The 20-year-old has stood out for his dribbling ability, with his average of 6.58 progressive carries per 90 minutes placing him in the top 2% of positional peers in Europe’s five main leagues over the past 12 months (FBref).

However, such is the competition for places in Liverpool’s attack that Fofana would’ve been a luxury signing rather than a necessary one, with Cody Gakpo the current holder of the left-sided berth and Rio Ngumoha knocking on the door for further inclusion.

In fact, Paul Joyce recently reported that the Anfield hierarchy decided against pursuing the Lyon forward as they didn’t want to impede the 17-year-old’s route into the first team, a decision which already seems to be justified by the teenager’s dramatic impact against Newcastle last month.

Richard Hughes might go back in for the Belgian at a later stage, but for now it appears that all parties are happy enough to maintain the status quo.