Real Betis have confirmed the blockbuster arrival of Lyon creator Nabil Fekir in a deal worth an initial €19.75m (£17.8m).
The Spanish outfit have also agreed to pay up to a further €10m (£9m) in performance related add-ons and Lyon have a 20% sell-on percentage clause.
Fekir, who has put pen to paper on a four-year deal with Betis, came close to joining Liverpool in a £53m deal only 12 months ago.
However, Lyon have reluctantly allowed their captain to leave the club in a cut-price deal this summer due to the fact the 2018 World Cup winner only had 12 months left to run on his contract.
📣 OFFICIAL | #RealBetis sign Nabil Fekir 📝🤝
— Real Betis Balompié (@RealBetis_en) July 22, 2019
Welcome, @NabilFekir! 🧞♂️🤤
➡ https://t.co/ImcCvzYBJr pic.twitter.com/75YkDdgBjL
It was thought Fekir would join one of Europe’s elite clubs this summer and Betis has pulled off a stunning coup in signing the 26-year-old as they plan for life without Giovani Lo Celso.
Lo Celso is free to leave Betis this summer and the Spanish outfit expect to command as much as £50m for the Argentina international.
Tottenham had one bid rejected for the 23-year-old at the start of the window but are reportedly now on the verge of landing the Betis midfielder.
After the disappointment of last summer, Fekir only returned nine goals and seven assists in 29 league appearances for Lyon in 2018/19.
In the campaign leading up to Liverpool’s interest, Fekir scored 18 goals and provided eight assists in 30 league appearances.
