Chelsea gamble their main target transfer repeat in negotiations over Rayan Cherki deal
In recent days, Chelsea have intensified their pursuit of Lyon attacker Rayan Cherki, speaking with the Frenchman’s entourage about a potential transfer to Stamford Bridge, according to football.london.
The 19-year-old drew the attention of Chelsea last season after the club sent scouts to observe Malo Gusto’s development after acquiring the right-back in January. After the departure of Mason Mount, the Blues are seeking to add an attacking midfielder to their roster, and Cherki has been identified as their top priority.
After last week’s optimistic discussions with Cherki’s representatives, Chelsea is contemplating submitting an offer to Lyon. The Blues contacted the playmaker’s camp to determine if a transfer to Stamford Bridge would be feasible and if he would be interested in making the move.
Now it is Chelsea’s responsibility to negotiate a price with Lyon for their valued asset. According to football.london’s sources, the French club, which finished seventh in Ligue 1 last season, is determined to retain the Frenchman for at least another year, as his contract runs through 2025.
Importantly, Lyon have not stated that he is not available for purchase. This indicates that Chelsea could negotiate an agreement. According to reports, Lyon is contemplating whether to appeal the DNCG’s (Direction Nationale du Contrôle de Gestion) decision to monitor their transfer activity this summer, which would force them to sell some of their top players.
Chelsea and Lyon have a productive partnership. The Blues agreed with the French club to send Gusto back on loan for the duration of the season after acquiring him during the January transfer window.
The Chelsea recruitment team, which includes Paul Winstanley, Christopher Vivell, Joe Shields, and others, will be hopeful that negotiations are more straightforward than with Moises Caicedo this summer.
Chelsea has been in negotiations with Brighton to acquire the Ecuadorian international for a hefty sum for quite some time (globally, as talks have recently been reopened).
thesoccerstand.com is aware of this. Caicedo has verbally agreed to personal terms with Chelsea, but nothing has been signed as of this writing. In recent transfer windows, Brighton have proved to be extremely difficult to negotiate with when selling their key players, so this is the real obstacle.
According to reports, Brighton are willing to accept an offer in the vicinity of £80 million for the midfielder, the price Chelsea believes they can sign him for. Chelsea, however, desires to structure the transaction so they are not required to pay the sum in a lump sum.
Chelsea remains confident in their ability to sign midfielder Caicedo despite the paucity of news regarding a transfer for the player. When speaking to Maria Jose Flores of TCTELEVISION on Tuesday, the Ecuadorian himself confirmed his desire to relocate to Stamford Bridge.
“It is true that the team is large. I cannot refuse because the team is so large, gorgeous, and historically significant. Even the city is gorgeous.”
Apparently, Chelsea will now proceed with both transactions. However, they will hope that the Cherki transaction will not be as intricate or time-consuming as the Caicedo transaction.
Chelsea gamble their main target transfer repeat in negotiations over Rayan Cherki deal