Chelsea chase £35m French wonderkid as the perfect replacement for Mason Mount: report
Chelsea are undergoing a serious rebuild again this summer, with Mauricio Pochettino arriving as manager and a number of high-profile stars departing Stamford Bridge.
Among those to leave Chelsea this summer is Mason Mount, who has moved to Manchester United for £60m. Frustrated with his role at the Blues, Mount revealed he left the club because “it became clear that I wasn’t in Chelsea’s plans moving forward”.
With Kai Havertz going to Arsenal, and Christian Pulisic seemingly on his way to AC Milan, Pochettino is desperate for some more attacking quality to add to his squad.
According to Football London, Chelsea are looking to bring in Rayan Cherki, who has impressed at Lyon since breaking into the first team three years ago. The 19-year-old is an attacking player capable of featuring on either wing or even in the No.10 role.
The report states that Chelsea have often sent scouts to France to monitor the progress of Cherki, who scored four goals and assisted six times in Ligue 1 across 34 appearances for Lyon last season.
Cherki has most recently been playing at the Euro U21 tournament in Georgia and Romania, where he scored twice. Chelsea scouts were reportedly in attendance watching him as France were knocked out in the quarter-finals by a Ukraine side containing Mykhalo Mudryk, potentially his future Chelsea team-mate.
With two years still remaining on his Lyon contract, Chelsea will have to pay around £35m to buy Cherki. Transfermarkt values the 19-year-old at £25m, however.
The Blues could end up loaning Cherki back to Lyon if they do sign him, though, similar to how they handled the signing of Malo Gusto in January.
After buying him for £35m, Chelsea let the full-back remain in France for six months to continue his development.
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Chelsea transfer news is starting to gather pace.
The Blues have been linked with Sadio Mane, along with Paris Saint-Germain star Neymar, in a bid to improve their squad, while Manuel Ugarte appears to be PSG-bound. Kylian Mbappe could be on the cards, too, while Andre Onana is still on the radar.
Former Blue Gus Poyet is disappointed Mount is leaving, though, suggesting Chelsea suffered without him.
