Italy Attempting to Poach Olympique Lyonnais Starlet | OneFootball

Italy are trying to lure a talent from France, as Rayan Cherki, who has yet to debut with the senior team, is eligible to play for the Azzurri and Algeria given the nationality of his parents and grandparents. He has starred with Les Blues at the youth level. He has notched 20 appearances and 11 goals with the U-21 side.

According to RMC Sport (via Goal), the FIGC, the Italian Football Association, has intensified the contacts with the player in recent weeks. He faced the Azzurrini in a recent friendly, scoring and assisting in a 2-2 draw.

Cherki could switch his allegiance to Italy because one of his grandfathers was born in Puglia. Roberto Mancini had already tried to convince him when he was 19. During his tenure, the boss persuaded Mateo Retegui, with brilliant results. Instead, Matias Soulé and Valentin Carboni stuck with Argentina lately.

The youngster will be a hot commodity in the next transfer market windows due to Olympique Lyonnais’ financial crunch. They’ll get relegated if they can’t significantly reduce their debt. Lazio tried to sign him last summer but opted to wait for a potential Bosman transfer, also because he asked for €2.5M per year, Corriere dello Sport informed.

Our Take on Italy and Cherki

It’s not a bad idea to seek talent whenever you can find it, and national teams don’t have many avenues to do that. While it has paid dividends in recent and past years, the courtship always sounds a bit tacky and is an ugly look if it’s not successful.