Manchester United 'weighing up summer move for Nabil Fekir'

Manchester United are reportedly considering moving for Real Betis attacker Nabil Fekir during this summer's transfer window.

The 29-year-old has made 19 appearances for his Spanish club during the 2022-23 campaign, contributing six goals and three assists in the process.

Fekir only signed a new deal with the Green and Whites last January, with his current contract having more than three years left to run, but there is currently speculation surrounding his future.

According to Fichajes, Real Betis would be willing to sell the Frenchman for €30m (£26.5m) this summer, which has attracted the attention of a number of clubs, including Newcastle United and Leicester City, but Man United are believed to be at the head of the queue for his services.

The report claims that Red Devils head coach Erik ten Hag views Fekir as a player capable of stepping into the starting XI when Bruno Fernandes is given a rest.

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The 25-time France international started his career with Lyon, representing the club on 193 occasions in all competitions before arriving at Real Betis in 2019.

Fekir has now made 137 appearances for his current team, scoring 28 goals and registering 26 assists, but he came close to joining Liverpool in the summer of 2018.

There had been strong suggestions that a troublesome knee problem prevented him from moving to Liverpool, but Fekir insisted towards the end of 2021 that was not the case.

"It was a dark moment. I saw plenty of things which weren't true. It was said the knee stopped me going to Liverpool but that wasn't true," the attacker told The Times.

"I went to Clairefontaine [France's football centre near Paris], and they did all the proof [medical] and the knee was fine. I had a problem with my agent, my adviser. It was the agent [who was] responsible for the deal not going through.

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"Of course I was disappointed not to go to Liverpool, very disappointed because Liverpool are a great club. I met the coach, Jurgen Klopp, and it went well. After meeting him, I wanted to join Liverpool even more. He's a good person.

"It was really difficult to deal with as I really wanted to go to Liverpool. It was a moment that was not easy for me."

Fekir is capable of operating in a number of different positions in the final third of the field, although he has largely played as a number 10 at club level this season.

The Frenchman has played three times in the Europa League in 2022-23, and he will come up against Man United in the last-16 stage of the competition, with the first leg of their affair set to take place at Old Trafford on March 9 before the reverse fixture in Seville one week later.