{"id":295158,"date":"2023-11-02T06:54:18","date_gmt":"2023-11-02T06:54:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/?p=295158"},"modified":"2023-11-02T06:54:18","modified_gmt":"2023-11-02T06:54:18","slug":"chelsea-on-alert-for-next-eden-hazard-after-wonderkid-cherki-snubbed-by-boss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/soccer\/chelsea-on-alert-for-next-eden-hazard-after-wonderkid-cherki-snubbed-by-boss\/","title":{"rendered":"Chelsea on alert for ‘next Eden Hazard’ after wonderkid Cherki snubbed by boss"},"content":{"rendered":"

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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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: <\/strong> Mauricio Pochettino issues message to frustrated Chelsea supporters[LATEST] <\/strong><\/p>\n

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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.<\/p>\n

But his club career has taken a turn for the worse just months after Lyon apparently rejected bids upwards of \u00a335m 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n