Chelsea have been among the transfer suitors for Lyon star Rayan Cherki, however, Fabrizio Romano insists their interest was never that strong or concrete.
Writing in his exclusive CaughtOffside column, Romano says that Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain have been among the teams to show an interest in Cherki, while he also has admirers from elsewhere in the Premier League.
Romano can’t name the specific clubs at the moment, but it also seems unlikely that Chelsea will be back in for the highly-rated young Frenchman again any time soon.
The Blues mainly had an interest in signing Bradley Barcola from Lyon, though he ended up moving to PSG instead, while Romano added that Cherki could be another player who fits the profile of what the Ligue 1 champions are looking for for their future project.
Cherki could surely do a job for Chelsea, PSG or a host of other top clubs, but it seems his future is by no means certain at the moment.
“Lyon also have plenty of interest in star player Rayan Cherki, he’s appreciated by many clubs. I’m not allowed to share the names of the clubs who were in discussions over Cherki in the summer right now, it’s still a secret, but I can say he’s a player Chelsea have been following,” Romano said.
“There have been a lot of rumours this week, but it was never anything concrete between Chelsea and Lyon. The main talks between Chelsea and Lyon were over Bradley Barcola, not Cherki, it’s not something imminent or a priority target for Chelsea.
“There is also some interest from Premier League clubs, and in January Paris Saint-Germain tried to sign the player because he’s a big talent and the kind that PSG want for the future of their project, but Lyon were very strong on their position and said no to the possibility of selling Cherki.
“I think he won’t be easy for any club, but for sure there is going to be an exciting future for this player because he is super talented. Still, my feeling is that Chelsea will have different priorities and that, as of today, Cherki is not a priority target for Chelsea.”