Why €24m bargain seems like a bad fit for Chelsea despite great talent | OneFootball

SportWitness today have translated claims in France which continue to link Chelsea with Lyon attacking midfielder Rayan Cherki.

The 20 year old is about to enter the last year of his contract at Lyon, and so many teams are looking at him this summer thinking about finally giving the former wonderkid a chance to spread his wings.

They say that there’s “strong interest” from the Blues in the attacking midfielder, who scored 3 and assisted 8 this season just gone.

PSG and Newcastle are also mentioned in the report, with Lyon accepting that they’re likely to have to sell and Cherki seemingly set for a few options to pick from. This isn’t the first time we’ve been linked with Cherki, but for now the reports have been largely very vague.

An unlikely move for Chelsea – at this stage

This is not a rumour we particularly believe, or one we’re that excited about. For all his supreme talent on the ball, Cherki so far isn’t quite fulfilling that talent with top performances.

He could be one of those players who explodes when he moves away from his boyhood club into the wider world – especially given Lyon have been a bit of a basket case in the last few years. But to us he also feels like one of those players who could get a bit lost and struggle outside the bubble he’s so used to.

He’s got the talent, but the mentality is something he will have to prove he possesses. Under normal circumstances the €24m value being put on him in this piece would be a bargain, but Chelsea’s dreadful financial situation makes it a little less tempting.

To us, this whole story smells like Cherki’s agents spreading transfer talk to try and make sure their client gets some bigger offers this summer.