French football expert Jonathan Johnson has weighed in on the recent transfer rumours involving Lyon wonderkid Rayan Cherki and a possible move to Chelsea.
The 19-year-old looks a hugely promising young attacking player, and it wouldn’t be too surprising to see him earn a big move before too long, though it remains to be seen if Chelsea are serious contenders for his signature at the moment.
A recent report from football.london suggested Chelsea were considering Cherki, but the story hasn’t really developed since then.
Still, Johnson has weighed in with his insight on Lyon’s situation in his exclusive CaughtOffside column this week, explaining that there is likely to be some scope for the Ligue 1 side cashing in on their young talents due to their financial issues.
Bradley Barcola is another of Lyon’s exciting young players attracting interest, but Johnson has suggested that someone like Cherki leaving is probably more realistic, which could end up being good news for Chelsea.
“There’s growing speculation about Bradley Barcola after a really good season with Lyon. He’s a fantastic talent and is being linked with PSG and RB Leipzig. It doesn’t surprise me at all that a club that specialises in identifying young talent like Leipzig are among those interested in him, while he’d also be a good fit for PSG and the direction they’re trying to move in with younger French talents,” Johnson said.
“I think the thing that makes Lyon players interesting at this moment in time is the club’s financial situation. They’ve had some limitations set on them by the French football financial watchdog, so if they are to make any significant moves they will have to sell to buy, and not over-spend on salaries. I think we can therefore expect one or maybe two significant departures from Lyon this summer.
“That doesn’t necessarily mean Barcola will be the one who ends up going, because I’m sure OL would love to keep hold of him and build around him. I think there are other players that are more likely to leave at this moment in time, but while that financial situation remains an issue, there will likely be clubs looking to use that to their advantage and snare top talents like Barcola.
“Rayan Cherki could be one to watch. There have been reports linking him with Chelsea. He made his breakthrough a bit further in the past than Barcola, and he’s another promising young player who’s been catching the eye for a while now. He’s somebody firmly on the radar of top European clubs, as we saw when PSG tried for him last year. I do think Cherki is someone worth watching as I wouldn’t be surprised if other big clubs were to come in for him as well.
“Lyon are generally not short of talent that would be of interest across Europe. If I were to pick two players likely to be on the move from Lyon this summer, I would probably put Cherki and Castello Lukeba ahead of Barcola at this moment in time, but it depends on the most attractive offers put in front of Lyon while they have these financial issues hanging over them. Once these issues are resolved I think it’ll be harder to get Lyon to sell, so it’s really about whichever club gets in there first with a proposal that is attractive to Lyon.”