Chelsea want all of the footballers, let’s be honest. But there is one player they really want right now and that is Rayan Cherki.
The Lyon academy has produced special talent over the years and have a strong contingent coming through at the moment. Les Gones have often supplied the France Under-21 team with exciting youngsters on the rise.
Cherki is one of them, so why exactly are Chelsea and so many of Europe’s elite enchanted by him?
19-year-old winger Cherki has been involved in Lyon’s first team since the 2019/20 season, flitting between the senior side and the reserves early on. However, he now has three heavily involved seasons in the first team under his belt, meaning he has mental and physical experience beyond his years.
His versatility is another reason why Mauricio Pochettino wants to sign the Frenchman. Cherki has made the majority of his appearances in the number ten role but he has also played plenty of games on the left and right wings.
Cherki got five goals and six assists across Ligue 1 and the Coupe de France in 2022/23, which isn’t incredible but there is genuine belief those numbers can grow as he develops further.
Rather than focusing on just goals and assists, his various attacking metrics suggest he will get better. As shown by Sofascore, Cherki completed 81% of his passes in Ligue 1 last season, won an impressive 2.3 take-ons and 3.7 duels per appearance. He also created 14 big chances for his teammates.
Cherki was only 16 when he broke into the Lyon team but coach Laurent Blanc spoke in 2022 about how he has had attitude problems in the past.
“He’s a boy who has a lot of talent, everyone is practically unanimous on that,” Blanc said in 2022. “He has a lot of talent, but it is necessary to use it well and use it for the good of the team. That was not always the case with Rayan and that led to some heated discussions with him.
“Rayan has been able to put his talent to good use. Afterwards, he must do even better. With him, you can be very demanding, because he has great potential. And while it’s all well and good to say, ‘I want to play, I want to play’, you have to be able to keep it up and play well one match after another.”
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Chelsea are moving forward quite rapidly in their attempts to sign Rayan Cherki, partly prompted by Christian Pulisic’s sale to AC Milan for €20m. That move frees up funds for a transfer fee, wages and some more space in the squad.
90min understands the Blues have reached out to Lyon to discuss a deal for Cherki this summer. Pulisic had been subject to previous interest from the French side but rejected their approach.
A €50m price tag has been slapped on the France Under-21 international, though Chelsea are hopeful of striking a deal closer to €35m. Lyon are prepared to lose a number of first team players this summer due to financial problems and the healthy contact between the two clubs may work in Chelsea’s favour.
The west London side purchased full back Malo Gusto from Lyon in January for €30m and Cherki is understood to be keen to reunite with his former club teammate.
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