‘Never close’: Chelsea actually were never even near signing £34m player this summer – Fabrizio Romano

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Chelsea were never close to signing Lyon star Rayan Cherki during the summer transfer window.

That is according to Fabrizio Romano.

While the Italian journalist has stated that Chelsea have been tracking Rayan Cherki, he says they did not hold concrete talks with Lyon about a deal. On Twitter, he wrote: “Chelsea were never really in advanced or concrete talks to sign Rayan Cherki this summer.

“Club tracking him as top talent but it was never close. There were two English clubs keen on signing Cherki… but OL said no.”

In July, ESPN claimed that Chelsea were preparing to make an offer for the attacker. According to the same outlet, Lyon value him at around £34m.

Could Chelsea sign Rayan Cherki next year?

It is not impossible, as the French youngster is clearly on their radar.

If Cherki impresses during the first half of this season, perhaps Chelsea could end up making a move for him in January or next summer.

They recently bought Cole Palmer, though, and also have Christopher Nkunku, Raheem Sterling, Mykhailo Mudryk and Noni Madueke as attacking options.

Ultimately, it does not look like Cherki needs to be a priority for the Blues right now, while the 20-year-old, who needs game time to continue his development, may fancy joining a club where there will be less competition if he does decide to leave Lyon.

Going into the new year, Chelsea’s priority needs to be a prolific striker after their struggles in front of goal so far this season and last term. Only after that issue is addressed should they start looking at other attackers like Cherki.

Really, on top of bringing in a new No.9, Mauricio Pochettino should be trying to get the best out of Mudryk and Madueke, offensive players who were only bought recently.