Chelsea could finally get the chance to capture the wonderkid dubbed the ‘next Eden Hazard’ in January just months after seeing a bid rejected for the same player. The Blues targeted Rayan Cherki as a potential addition to the squad in the summer transfer window, but his club Lyon refused to sell the youngster due to his importance to the club. His situation has now changed drastically, leaving the door open for the west London club to revive their move for the highly-rated French talent.
Cherki has been on the radar of Europe’s top clubs since he became Lyon’s youngest-ever scorer at the age of 16 years and 140 days after notching in the Coupe de France back in 2019. He has gone on to become an important player with 110 appearances for his club, only missing four Ligue 1 matches in 2022-23, after scoring five times in 39 appearances across all competitions.
His low sense of gravity and flashy dribbling style has drawn inevitable comparisons with Blues icon Eden Hazard, which has excited Chelsea fans at the prospect of signing another player cut from the same cloth as the Belgian.
The club have struggled to find his successor after spending big on Christian Pulisic and Mykhaylo Mudryk since his exit four years ago, but Cherki could prove to be the true heir to Hazard at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea had tracked the 20-year-old with a view to a permanent switch, only to be rebuffed in their advances back in August.
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In the last international break, France Under-21 coach Thierry Henry chose to deploy Cherki as the playmaker and the Lyon starlet sparkled in his new role, scoring twice himself and having a major hand in six other goals in their 9-0 demolition of Cyprus.
But his club career has taken a turn for the worse just months after Lyon apparently rejected bids upwards of £35m from Chelsea in the summer for their academy starlet. According to Le Parisien, Cherki was left out of the squad for their postponed clash against Marseille despite not carrying an injury or having any fitness-related issues.
Instead, Lyon boss Grosso decided to omit him from the matchday squad, before the game was suspended after the team bus was attacked by fans throwing rocks on their way into the Stade Velodrome. His decision may not come as a surprise, with Grosso claiming the winger is not as ‘special’ as some pundits had praised him to be.
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“I was aware of Rayan Cherki before his performance in the Espoirs [France Under-21s] match. He possesses extraordinary potential, and everyone hopes he can translate that potential into consistent performance,” Grosso said in a press conference, as quoted by RMC Sport.
“Is he a special player? He’s a player; he’s not a special player. He’s a player like any other, albeit with some additional qualities. But it’s not just technical qualities that matter; there are mental and athletic qualities as well. He possesses enormous technical abilities, but he needs to work on the others.”
In any case, his latest snub means Cherki’s career is only heading in one direction unless Grosso resigns or is sacked before the January transfer window. With only 18 months remaining on his contract and Lyon languishing at the bottom of Ligue 1, the French club could sell for for a knockdown price to Chelsea if they revive their interest.
Speaking with TNT Sports, French pundit Martin Mosnier compared the youngster with Hatem Ben Arfa and Hazard: “Cherki is an exceptional dribbler, one of the first things one notices when watching him is that he appears to be ambipedal, as he can seemingly utilise both feet equally well. His strengths are as follows: key passes, dribbling and his ability to create something out of nothing.”
In addition, Mosnier added: “He could very well become a Premier League star like Eden Hazard, but I think it’s still too early for him to leave.”
Mauricio Pochettino will be well aware of his talents, having coached PSG during Cherki’s breakout season. And if Cherki turns out to be anything like Hazard at Chelsea, it would prove to be a rare victory for Todd Boehly in getting the fans back on his side.
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