Chelsea pull out of race to sign £25m player, he could go to another London club

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Chelsea may have left the door wide open for West Ham to swoop in and sign Lyon’s Rayan Cherki.

That is according to a report from TEAMtalk.

They claim that Chelsea and West Ham both scouted Rayan Cherki in the summer, but any kind of move never materialised.

It is understood that the Blues are not expected to move for Lyon’s attacking midfielder because they’re focused on other targets, so they’ve pulled out of the race right now.

The report explains that Premier League and London rivals West Ham are favourites to sign the 20-year-old playmaker.

Apparently, Lyon are open to offers for their £25million-rated French youngster. There’s an increasing chance that he moves in the January transfer window, too.

Bad form

Strangely, Cherki’s linked with a move to England at a difficult time during his career in France.

His Lyon side have imploded and sit bottom of the Ligue 1 table right now.

Cherki has played 14 league games so far this season, scoring zero goals and making just one assist in return.

It’s a big drop off from when the attacking midfielder was a key player in Lyon’s line-up last season.

Rayan Cherki interest

Speaking via The Football Terrace back in August, journalist Dean Jones reported that Chelsea were still looking at Cherki late into the summer window.

It looks like a masterstroke to look past Lyon’s creator and sign Cole Palmer a week later.

Palmer, 21, moved to Stamford Bridge from Manchester City in the final hours of the transfer window. He’s certainly helped fill a void in attack with his creativity and flair.

Mauricio Pochettino’s side are now left needing a world-class striker.