The Wonderkid Files: Rayan Cherki - the mesmerising winger wanted by Chelsea and Newcastle

There’s nothing Chelsea love more than a shiny new wide forward – so it’s no surprise to see them linked with yet another. This one, however, is more than a little bit special, and is viewed by many judges of talent as one of the brightest young players ever to emerge from Lyon’s academy. Rayan Cherki has the potential to become a spectacular player.

At 19 years of age, Cherki has already established himself as one of the most exciting players in Ligue 1 – and now Chelsea are rumoured to be looking to take advantage of the French side’s uncertain financial status with a bid in the region of £50m. Not that they’re alone – Newcastle United have also emerged as a potential suitor in recent days, and the competition for his signature could hot up rapidly.

Since making his debut at the age of just 16, Cherki has been wowing onlookers with his mesmeric dribbling skills and penchant for high-risk, high-reward plays. Genuinely two-footed and able to play on both flanks – but used mostly on the right so far – he’s a winger who can cut inside or head to the byline as has the acceleration, strength and guile to take defences to pieces.

The way he moves with the ball at his feet is the first thing that catches the eye. He has remarkable close control while moving the ball at pace, and being equally adept with both left and right feet he can switch the ball quickly from one side to the other, leaving defenders guessing which way he’s going to go. That unpredictability and speed of movement makes him a nightmare to tackle, and his ball-carrying statistics are already on a par with Europe’s very best – almost nobody in the world’s top leagues carries the ball further or to better effect.

He’s also a fine passer who’s constantly looking for killer balls – which explains his relatively mediocre pass completion statistics. Cherki seldom looks to play the simple pass, preferring to bypass defenders quickly and tee up chances. He only managed six assists this past season, but off an xA of nine, which is extremely high. In other words, blame Lyon’s strikers for failing to put away the chances he creates, because he generates plenty of them. His 6.15 shot-creating actions per game is better than around 97% of players in his position among the ‘big five’ divisions.

To add to the mix, he’s also a strong dead-ball option and has become Lyon’s first-choice corner taker, as well as getting his share of free-kicks, albeit more from crossing positions than shooting ones. His delivery from wide areas is excellent.

On the flip side, he’s more of a provider than a goalscorer, and has only scored five times in his 83 league games for Lyon so far – although he does have six in 14 for France’s Under-21 side, which suggests a potentially lethal finisher if he’s put in the right areas enough. First and foremost, however, he’s looking to beat defenders and play team-mates in rather than trying to score himself – and his heat maps show a player drifting across the edge of the attacking third rather than getting into the box himself with great frequency.

Which isn’t to say that he doesn’t have some kinks to iron out. His defensive contributions have so far been minimal (he made just eight successful tackles in his last Ligue 1 campaign) and his volume of pressing attempts is low – he simply isn’t the kind of player who mucks in with the team as part of a high pressing system, and potential managers may be wary of that. He’s an individualist, a trait not much appreciated in the modern game, but so good that many coaches would be happy to accept the trade-off if their tactics permit.

Whether that makes him the right fit for Chelsea or Newcastle is open to interpretation, but there is simply no denying his ability – he is an astonishingly gifted player with a colossal ceiling, and few holes in his game outside of tactical discipline. Whether that is enough to prevent him from reaching the top of the game remains to be seen, but clearly hasn’t put off Premier League suitors so far.

Whether Lyon will be pressured into selling or not is hard to say. The club have had their finances placed under the supervision of the DNCG, France’s football watchdog, due to budget irregularities, but it’s understood that this may not force Lyon to sell – and owner John Textor appears to want to limit outgoings with defender Castello Lukeba and midfielder Romain Faivre already expected to head to RB Leipzig and Bournemouth respectively. In other words, while a big enough bid would surely coerce Lyon into selling their prized asset they won’t let him go cheap, and his contract runs until 2025, giving the club some wriggle room.

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Whether he moves this summer or in the future, Cherki is simply too good for a big club not to take a chance on him sooner or later, even if the price sails beyond the suggested £50m. He’s a thrilling talent, extraordinary to watch and will create goals for any team – as well as migraines for opposing defences. Let’s hope we get to see him in the Premier League sooner rather than later.

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