Chelsea are preparing £34M bid for Christian Pulisic’s replacement
By Evan Curnew
Rayan Cherki is known for his incredible dribbling and flair. He has deservedly earned his spotlight, and it looks to be attracting the interest of Chelsea. Julien Laurens of ESPN is reporting that Chelsea are expected to prepare a bid for the French forward. Internally, he is seen as a like-to-like replacement for the departing Christian Pulisic, who will join AC Milan in a short time. Laurens believes that Olympique Lyon, Cherki’s club, is valuing Cherki at around £34M.
ESPN additionally reports that Elye Wahi of Ligue 1 side Montpellier is also someone Chelsea are keeping tabs on.
Should a transfer between Chelsea and Lyon for Cherki commence, it will be second in just a short amount of time. Right-back Malo Gusto joined Chelsea in January for £25.5M plus bonuses and was immediately loaned back to Lyon for the remainder of the 22/23 season.
Cherki is an Olympique Lyon academy product and has slowly found himself as an essential player at the club. Rayan is of Algerian descent, but the 19-year-old is currently a French U21 International. For Cherki, there is no Champions League or Europa League incentive to join Chelsea, but Lyon also missed on European football for the upcoming season.
Cherki joining Pochettino’s blues would continue the youth movement at the London-based club. Malo Gusto, Omari Hutchinson, Andrey Santos, Gabriel Slonina, Carney Chukwuemeka and Diego Moreira are just some of the U21 names added recently. That’s without mentioning the likes of Enzo Fernandez and Noni Madueke, who are still in the early stages of their pro careers.
It will be interesting to watch how Chelsea’s attack lines up next season. Decisions still have to be made with Hakim Ziyech, Romelu Lakakua, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Even if Cherki is the replacement for Pulisic, the USMNT star did not feature much for Chelsea this past season. Space will have to be cleared before a pathway for Rayan Cherki makes sense both for the club and the player.