Liverpool's £53-million (R928-million) move for Lyon midfielder Nabil Fekir is in doubt after they hesitated on concluding the deal after his medical.
Fekir was due to be confirmed as Liverpool's latest signing on Friday. A deal was agreed between the clubs, as were personal terms with the player, and members of the Anfield medical department had spent two days in France to oversee what were presumed final formalities.
Instead of the expected arrival of a club statement confirming the latest transfer coup, enough concerns had materialised to ensure the signing had not gone ahead.
Liverpool are offering no indication as to the nature of the problem.
Fekir suffered a serious injury to his right knee playing for France three years ago. It is unclear at this stage whether Liverpool's caution is in any way related to this.The club hoped to conclude the transfer before the World Cup, where Fekir is representing France.
Negotiations had intensified in the past few days, leading to an agreement, though Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas gave a hint the move was not as clear-cut as suggested when stating claims Fekir had already left were premature.
France play their final warm-up game against the US today ahead of travelling to Russia. Now Liverpool must decide whether the late hitch means the deal is merely shelved pending further discussions.
Fekir was expected to be the latest exciting arrival from France, following Fabinho's £40-million switch from Monaco. Liverpool's midfield would have a fresh look, with Naby Keita already signed from RB Leipzig.
Now manager Jurgen Klopp will be assessing whether the Fekir deal can proceed or Liverpool must switch to alternative targets as they continue the hunt for a new No10. Fekir seemed to fit the bill.
One midfielder leaving Liverpool is Emre Can after the club confirmed the end of his Anfield career. The midfielder is preparing to join Juventus on a free transfer. The German was unable to agree a new deal and departs after a four-year stay. Liverpool have already replaced him with Fabinho.
Academy graduate Jon Flanagan has also been released, the youngster spending recent seasons on loan after recovering from the serious injury that derailed his progress at Liverpool.
Flanagan was part of Brendan Rodgers's side that almost won the title in 2014, but the following year he suffered a knee injury and was never able to re-establish himself by the time Klopp took over.
The loss of Can is a disappointment to Klopp, but he was resigned to the likelihood for much of last season.
The 24-year-old had plenty of opportunities to negotiate a new deal but there was no indication he would do so.Rather than freeze him out, or have him declared a "contract rebel", Liverpool took a pragmatic view.
They had recruited Can thanks to a favourable clause in his contract enabling him to leave Bayer Leverkusen for a cut-price fee. Can had negotiated an exit clause when leaving Bayern Munich in 2013.
Juventus have yet to confirm Can as their player, but it has been widely expected for months.
Can's Liverpool career ended miserably, though he played the final few minutes of the European Champions League final defeat against Real Madrid.
He missed the climax of the campaign with a back problem, an issue which ended his hopes of playing at the World Cup...