Lyon are determined to resist Chelsea’s interest in signing Rayan Cherki despite speculation that their owner, John Textor, may have to sell players this summer to balance the books. Chelsea are understood to have already sounded out Textor over his willingness to part with the France Under-21 forward, who is a product of Lyon’s celebrated youth system.
Cherki has been earmarked as a replacement for Christian Pulisic, who is completing his move to Milan for €22m (£18.8m) having arrived in Italy on Wednesday for his medical. However, Lyon want to keep the 19-year-old who was part of the France squad at the Under-21 European Championships. This is despite the announcement this month that the club’s transfer activity and wage bill will be monitored by French football’s financial watchdog, the Direction Nationale du Contrôle de Gestion (DNCG).
That was imposed after Textor’s takeover in December, although it is understood that does not mean he must sell players to raise funds.
Aside from Castello Lukeba – the defender who was the subject of a rejected €25m bid from RB Leipzig this week – and Romain Faivre, the midfielder who is set to join Bournemouth for £13m and then move to Lorient on loan, Textor is understood to be unwilling to allow any other players to leave this summer. Cherki is valued at around £50m after his contract was automatically extended in April by a year until 2025 after a triggering a clause by starting a certain number of games. Newcastle are also believed to have expressed an interest in Cherki in recent days.
Textor is still weighing up whether to appeal against the DNCG’s decision but is believed to have acknowledged that Lyon may be forced to live with the restrictions of being allowed to spend €23m in this transfer window. He was forced to inject an additional €60m into the club by the end of last month after the DNCG rejected a last-gasp attempt to move Eagle Football’s share capital in his other clubs – Crystal Palace, Molenbeek and Botafogo – into Lyon’s holding company.
Meanwhile, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Hakim Ziyech are expected to return to Chelsea training on Monday having failed to secure moves, although reports in Italy say Romelu Lukaku has been given dispensation to stay away as he negotiates a potential move to Internazionale.
