Chelsea have been given a huge boost to their hopes of signing Rayan Cherki this summer. The 19-year-old wonderkid has been heavily linked with a move to Stamford Bridge following a meteoric rise to superstardom at Olympique Lyonnais.
football.london understands that the Blues are considering a move for Cherki, who sees his contract with the French outfit expire in two-years. It's believed that the west Londoners sent scouts to watch the attacking midfielder on several occasions last term, where they also monitored the progress of Malo Gusto, who was signed in January.
With Chelsea in the market for a creative outlet to replace Mason Mount, Cherki has emerged as one of the most exciting options on Mauricio Pochettino's shortlist. He featured 34 times for Laurent Blanc's side in Ligue 1 last season, directly contributing towards ten goals.
Despite his age, the teenage sensation has quickly established himself in the Lyon starting lineup. He was fast-tracked into the first-team a couple of years ago following his impressive performances in the academy and made his senior debut in the Champions League at the age of just 16.
The France Under-21 international hasn't looked back since and he's now said to be firmly on the Blues' radar this summer. While it remains to be seen whether Chelsea will submit a bid for Cherki or not, he's reportedly open to the switch.
According to TeamTalk, Cherki wants to join Gusto at Stamford Bridge this summer. The report states that the Blues have a good relationship with Lyon and officials from west London have already held talks over a potential move.
In January, Jean-Michel Aulas publicly slammed Paris Saint-Germain for making an 'insulting' offer for the £43million-rated teenager. In an interview with French outlet RMC Sport, the Lyon president said: "I had a long time with Nasser [al-Khelaifi], who called me on Saturday evening, to find out whether or not we were in negotiations for Rayan Cherki.
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"I told him no, and Nasser told me, 'okay, it's over', and he added that PSG would therefore not make a new offer. I thank him for this direct and sincere contact. We did not enter into negotiations, but the level of the offer was insulting."
