With Chelsea now seriously interested in Rayan Cherki, football.london takes a look at what Lyon manager Laurent Blanc had to say on the attacker in an interview last year
Chelsea have recently stepped up their interest and pursuit of Lyon starlet Rayan Cherki, football.london understands.
Chelsea have been in contact with the France Under-21 international's entourage over the last week or so to try and find out whether the player would be open to moving. The west Londoners have since had positive feedback from Cherki's camp, meaning the real battle will be to try and find an agreement with Lyon to sell their prized asset.
Cherki is seen as someone with a generational talent and a player that, on his day, can change a game with a dribble, a shot or a defence-splitting pass. He is so highly thought of at Lyon and in France in general. Chelsea have been shown glimpses of his talent over the past few months while watching the Frenchman play.
However, it's not always been plain sailing for Cherki ever since he broke into the Lyon first-team at the age of 16. Laurent Blanc, who has been in charge of the Ligue 1 side since 2022, spoke about Cherki last year and said the player did not always use his talents for the absolute best of the team.
"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."
Blanc continued: "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."
Cherki is seen as the next big thing to come out of Lyon's academy. OL have produced some fine talent over the years, including the likes of Karim Benzema, Alexandre Lacazette, Hatem Ben Arfa and Nabil Fekir. But Cherki is seen as someone who could grow to be potentially better than all of these.
Chelsea need to find a way to persuade Lyon to sell the teenage sensation over the next few weeks. The two clubs have a strong working relationship, football.london understands, after agreeing a deal for Malo Gusto to move from France to England in the January transfer window. Discussions over Gusto led to Chelsea loaning the defender back to Lyon for the remainder of the season.
Paris Saint-Germain still have an interest in Cherki after the French champions saw a bid rejected for the teenager in the January transfer window. PSG's interest has slightly cooled on Cherki but they are said to still be monitoring the situation.
Chelsea are on the hunt for a new attacking midfielder following the departure of Mason Mount to Manchester United. Likewise, Kai Havertz has moved to Arsenal, while Christian Pulisic's transfer to AC Milan is expected to be made official in the next hours.
Hakim Ziyech came close to moving to Al Nassr but a move collapsed. The Moroccan, however, is still expected to leave Chelsea in the coming weeks after making it clear to the club of his desire to move on after three years in west London.
Cherki is the man Chelsea want. The player himself is very interested in the move. Over to you, Chelsea.