Chelsea have stepped up their pursuit of Lyon attacker Rayan Cherki in recent days with the Blues speaking to the Frenchman's entourage over a possible deal to see him move to Stamford Bridge, football.london understands.
The 19-year-old caught Chelsea's eyes last season after the club sent scouts initially to watch Malo Gusto and his development after signing the right-back in January. The Blues are looking for an attacking midfielder to add to their ranks following the departure of Mason Mount and Cherki has been identified as their priority signing in that position.
Chelsea are considering sending an offer to Lyon after positive conversations with Cherki's representatives over the past week. The Blues initially contacted the France Under-21 international's camp to try and gauge if a deal would be possible and if the playmaker would be keen on a move to Stamford Bridge.
Now it is up to Chelsea to try and agree on a price with Lyon for their prized asset. Sources have told football.london that the French club, who finished seventh in Ligue 1 last season, are determined to keep hold of the Frenchman for another year at least, with his contract running until 2025.
Importantly, however, Lyon have not said he is not for sale. This suggests Chelsea would be able to negotiate a deal. Lyon are reportedly considering whether to appeal the DNCG's (Direction Nationale du Controle de Gestion) decision to monitor their transfer activity this summer – meaning they could be forced to sell some of their star players.
Chelsea and Lyon have a strong working relationship. The Blues signed Gusto back in the January transfer window and agreed on a compromise with the French club to send him back there on loan for the remainder of the season.
READ MORE: Chelsea step up Rayan Cherki transfer interest as Lyon stance revealed
The recruitment team at Chelsea, consisting of the likes of Paul Winstanley, Christopher Vivell, Joe Shields and more, will be hoping negotiations are more straightforward than what they have seen with Moises Caicedo this summer. Chelsea have been locked in talks with Brighton for a while now (overall because talks recently reopened) over a deal to sign the Ecuador international for big money.
football.london understands Caicedo has agreed on personal terms with Chelsea verbally, although nothing has been signed at the time of writing. The real issue, however, is trying to strike a deal with Brighton, who have proven to be real tough negotiators in recent transfer windows when selling their key players.
Brighton are said to be willing to accept an offer in the region of £80million – a figure Chelsea believe they can sign the midfielder for. Chelsea, though, want to structure the deal so they do not have to pay the sum in a one-off fee.
Chelsea remain confident they can sign Caicedo despite the lack of news regarding a move for the midfielder. The Ecuadorian himself, when speaking to Maria Jose Flores of TCTELEVISION on Tuesday, confirmed he wanted to move to Stamford Bridge.
"It's a big team, that's true. A very historic team and I can't say no because it's a very big, historic, beautiful team. The city as well is beautiful."
Chelsea will now push ahead with both deals by the looks of things. But they will certainly be hoping the Cherki deal does not get as complicated or as time-consuming as the Caicedo one.
