Most up and coming French starlets are linked with Arsenal, this is nothing new. The reason for this is often that most French talent want to work with Arsene Wenger, and Nabil Fekir is no different, according to reports in The Daily Mail.
Fekir the headlines again last weekend after scoring two goals in a sensational performance for Lyon which is only going to increase the likelihood of a move to a bigger club. But he has also hit the headlines for another reason this week – taking some of the sheen of such a convincing performance at the weekend – and unfortunately, this might give the Premier League club reason to think twice.
The 21 year-old, who was born in Lyon to Algerian parents, has been offending almost everyone with his to-ing and fro-ing as he decides which country he would like to pledge allegiance to. Fekir was called up to the French Under-21 squad in October and back then his father told the media that his son would play for Algeria rather than France at senior level.
The player himself however, stayed silent on the issue until the new year, and I do wince when I see footballers’ fathers talking to the media when it comes to transfers or decisions like this. It’s hard to criticise the youngster for what his father said to the media.
But Fekir’s own handling of this has been disastrous. He did later speak out himself, telling the press that he hadn’t yet decided which country to choose, and would do so by the end of March, by which time he could be called up to a senior squad.
And so here we are in March, and right on queue Fekir has made a mess of the situation. He has turned it into a soap opera, played out in full view of the public.
Initially, the French and Algerian associations were trying to play this cool and not say anything which might cause a diplomatic incident between the federations. Both coaches, Didier Deschamps for France and Christian Gourcuff for Algeria, tried to avoid putting pressure on the player to decide one way or the other. But Fekir has dragged all parties into it: both managers, both federations and even his own club.
After Fekir had spoken to Gourcuff, the Algerian manager understood that Fekir wanted to play for Algeria. Of course, we don’t know what was said, but Gourcuff was convinced enough to include the youngster in his squad.
The Lyon player responded by publishing a statement on the club’s club website, saying that he had not told Gourcuff that he had decided to play for Algeria – which Gourcuff and Algeria dispute – and subsequently the player spoke to Deschamps.
After this phone call it appears that Fekir told Gourcuff that he had changed his mind. Eurosport reports that Fekir told French sports newspaper L’Equipe that he had made his ‘definitive decision’, and that was to play for France.
He told the paper that Deschamps was ‘very convincing’ in the phone call, and that it was in his interest to play for France.
So it is now alleged that Deschamps is angry because he wanted to stay out of it, and didn’t want to appear to ‘convince’ the player at all. French fans are angry that Fekir could choose to play for their country because it was ‘in his interest’.
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Gourcuff is angry because he felt he was lied to and dragged into a situation he wanted none of. The Algerian FA are angry for the same reason, but they are also angry because they feel that the club have been putting pressure on Fekir to choose France over Algeria – a claim that stems from the statement that Lyon published on their website, but a claim that is rendered a little odd by the fact that Christian Gourcuff is the father of Lyon midfielder Yoann Gourcuff. Presumably Fekir’s club, then, aren’t too happy about his dragging them into it either.
On top of all this, you also get the feeling that Fekir is jumping the gun somewhat by making all of this public before actually having been called up to a France squad. His performances certainly merit a call-up, and he’ll bring something a little different to the side, but no one knows just yet whether he’ll be offered a place.
So you would forgive Arsene Wenger for looking at all of this and wondering if he’s worth the hassle. Especially since his father has also been speaking to the media about Arsenal, saying that Fekir would only move to Arsenal if he left Lyon, and could only develop under Arsene Wenger. The Arsenal is yet another party being dragged into a situation he wanted no part of by an interview-happy father!
As messy as this situation is though, we must remember that Fekir is still just a kid and although he has made a mistake in how he has handled the situation perhaps the main protagonists of this soap opera should be looking to give him better guidance rather than direct their anger towards him. Certainly better guidance than his clearly partisan father seems to be giving him.
After all, that’s what he needs: guidance.
Fekir has other players to look up to in this situation, like Karim Benzema and Saint Etienne’s Romain Hamouma. Benzema also came through the ranks at Lyon, is also of Algerian origin and also caused controversy by declaring for France before moving to Real Madrid.
Hamouma was offered a call-up to the Algerian squad owing to his grandfather who was born there. The Saint Etienne winger refused as he said he felt French and not Algerian, but he will probably now never get the chance to play international football.
I hope that Wenger, if he is interested in Fekir’s signature, could look to all of this mess and see it not as indicative of a spoilt and fickle player, but as the actions of a youngster who has been given some bad guidance. Fekir looks to me like a man who is torn between doing a noble thing, and playing for the country of his heritage, and making a career-move and playing for a French side who are the hosts of the Euros next year.
It should be his fantastic feet that do the talking, and not which country he decides to play for, and I hope that a club like Arsenal can take him on board and show him that.
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