Liverpool are close to securing French midfielder Nabil Fekir in a £52 million transfer from Lyon.

Anfield officials will continue negotiations on Friday, increasingly hopeful of a deal before the 24-year-old heads for World Cup duty.

Liverpool hope that a bid of £48 million, plus £4 million in add-ons, will be enough to secure the playmaker’s signature before France’s final warm-up fixture against USA on Saturday The club’s medical staff are on alert, ready to travel to Paris to complete the formalities on Friday if given the green light.

Jean-Michel Aulas, the Lyon president, offered little encouragement when speaking on Thursday. “The deal is at a standstill. Nothing has happened,” he said. “The whole thing will certainly not be completed during the World Cup, and I don’t think anything will change before it. We haven’t set a starting price because we haven’t discussed that yet.”

However, there was movement on Merseyside after those comments. Fekir is the player Liverpool want to fill the No 10 role left vacant by Philippe Coutinho’s January move to Barcelona. He can play in the front three or deeper in the middle of the pitch. With Brazilian Fabinho already signed to replace Emre Can, Fekir’s arrival would complete the bulk of Jurgen Klopp’s incoming transfer activity.