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£44m star’s brother’s comments suggest Arsenal and Newcastle are wasting their time

Aston Villa manager Steve Bruce looks dejected (REUTERS)
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EIBAR, SPAIN - FEBRUARY 02: Nabil Fekir of Real Betis Balompie celebrates after scoring goal during the Liga match between SD Eibar SAD and Real Betis Balompie at Ipurua Municipal Stadium on February 02, 2020 in Eibar, Spain. (Photo by Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images)
Photo by Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images

Nabil Fekir is loving life at Real Betis with his brother suggesting that a potential move to Arsenal or Newcastle United is a non-starter this summer, while speaking to Estadio Deportivo.

Two years after a France international saw a big-money switch to Liverpool fall through in acrimonious circumstances, clubs in England have once again come calling for a man who has overcome those injury problems to re-establish himself as one of Europe’s leading play-makers.

Fekir has been a shining light in an underachieving Real Betis side in the last 10 months, justifying a shock decision to swap Lyon for the Andalusian outfit in a bargain £17 million deal.

The World Cup winner’s price-tag has soared to somewhere in the region of £44 million after a series of sparkling performances in La Liga, with the Mirror suggesting that Arsenal could turn to him to ease the creative burden on a declining Mesut Ozil.

FootMercato, meanwhile, have mentioned Fekir as a marquee transfer target for a Newcastle side who, if all goes to plan, will swap the penny-pinching Mike Ashley for a Saudi Arabian billionaire.

MOSCOW, RUSSIA - JULY 15:  Nabil Fekir of France celebrates after the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia Final between France and Croatia at Luzhniki Stadium on July 15, 2018 in Moscow, Russia.  (Photo by Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images)
Photo by Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images

But according to a man who knows Fekir better than most, the former OL captain is not going anywhere any time soon.

“My brother is very happy in Seville and at Betis. He is very happy to be able to face this new challenge in his career and feel the support of the fans,” says Yassin Fekir, the younger sibling who also joined the La Liga outfit from Lyon last year.

Considering that Real Betis’s president, Angel Haro, told AS last month that his fleet-footed talisman had no interest in upping sticks once again, it feels that Arsenal and Newcastle are barking up the wrong tree here.

Nabil Fekir goal celebration during the match between FC Barcelona and Real Betis Balompie, corresponding to the week 2 of the Liga Santander, played at the Camp Nou Stadium, on 25th August, 2019, in Barcelona, Spain.  (Photo by Joan Valls/Urbanandsport /NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Photo by Joan Valls/Urbanandsport /NurPhoto via Getty Images