Rayan Cherki - Lyon player

[Powderfinger]

One of the biggest talents on the planet, should learn from Enzo’s mistake and hold off for another year, everyone will be after him

I think Lyon will keep him for the same reason. Even with just a year left on his contract, they’ll get a bigger fee next summer after a bidding war if he has a breakout season.

 

[simonhch]

I’m probably wrong but from what I’ve heard, Lyon are willing to sell because there are a lot of question marks about his attitude and application. I heard this from a guy I work with who is connected to the French youth squads (I work for a large football company with a lot of ties throughout the game). He also looks the sort of player, to me, who will get eaten up at a higher level because he’s has zero defensive output, which just doesn’t fly anymore.

Players of course develop at different rates and he still has time to put it all together and mature. He is certainly ridiculously gifted with the ball at his feet, even if he lacks explosive acceleration. Being hearing a lot about him since he was 16, which may be unfair on him, as people come to expect too much too soon.

I would think, and this is just conjecture, but I would think that if the Lyon coaches think he is set to realise his enormous talent in a way that is better applicable to top level football, then they’d keep him for another 12 months and get a much bigger fee for him. Even with one year remaining, a bidding war could see them get 50-70m with add-ons easily. Right now it seems like only Chelsea are in for him, which is a bit of a red flag. I’m fairly sure if I’ve heard about attitude problems, all the top scouts have heard a lot more.

 

[Righteous Steps]

Yep, in terms of sheer technical excellence. While I don't think he'll reach Hazard's level as a player its funny seeing comments like his workrate or attitude being a dealbreaker when we literally had Hazard who was lazy on the pitch defensively, cited by former teammates as the worst trainer they've ever seen, and completely undisciplined when it came to gearing up for the new seasons. Yet he was the centerpiece which we built an entire era around, and compensated for on the pitch. And he's arguably in our top 3 greatest ever players.

Sometimes ridiculous talent trumps all. I think Cherki is far more in line with Hazard's level of talent than a Ben Arfa etc.

Ben Arfa was an incredible talent himself.

 

[Rnd898]

I think Lyon will keep him for the same reason. Even with just a year left on his contract, they’ll get a bigger fee next summer after a bidding war if he has a breakout season.

Lyon are currently in hot waters with some financial irregularities though. Their budget is under close scrutiny by DNCG who monitor and enforce the financial rules in French football.

It was recently reported they need to raise €50-60M fast and could also have to make some adjustments to their salary bill for the next season. Cherki is one of their top earners at €75K/wk so selling him for a decent fee and getting him off the salary bill would go a long way in helping both problems immediately so however much they could get for him next year could be deemed irrelevant.

Hazard was tearing it up in France before moving. Hazard came off a season with more than 35 G+A and a Ligue 1 champions medal.

True, but then again Hazard was a couple years older too. If you look at Eden's goal contribution numbers when he was 19 they were much more similar to Cherki from last season. Whether Cherki is about to blossom like Hazard did is of course another question entirely but I'm just saying it's probably not fair to compare 21yo and 19yo players.

 

[Oranges038]

Cheyrou MkII hopefully

 

[Chaky_Best]

He's a number 10, but not a Riquelme one or a Bruno one that makes players around better. He's a second striker that plays only for him.

Has a bad behaviour, thinks he's already Zidane.

Wouldn't buy him.

 

[SambaBoy]

It's symptomatic of modern day football that a lot of the discussion focuses on his defensive contributions or lack of them rather than what a talent this guy is and a joy to watch.

I wonder what the general consensus would have been when Ronaldinho, Ronaldo etc burst on to the scene and you have a massive amount of statistics about how he's in the bottom 5% for interceptions, pressures etc. It's like nowadays a player can't really be world class unless he has the defensive side to his game as well. This is mainly just a moan about the way modern football is going and how sterile it is. You don't get the mavericks or the entertainers anymore like you used to, everyone has to fit into a system, be alert tactically and contribute massive amounts defensively.

 

[Righteous Steps]

It's symptomatic of modern day football that a lot of the discussion focuses on his defensive contributions or lack of them rather than what a talent this guy is and a joy to watch.

I wonder what the general consensus would have been when Ronaldinho, Ronaldo etc burst on to the scene and you have a massive amount of statistics about how he's in the bottom 5% for interceptions, pressures etc. It's like nowadays a player can't really be world class unless he has the defensive side to his game as well. This is mainly just a moan about the way modern football is going and how sterile it is. You don't get the mavericks or the entertainers anymore like you used to, everyone has to fit into a system, be alert tactically and contribute massive amounts defensively.

Ronaldinho and Ronaldo are outlier though because their talent was so extraordinary for the talents like these two and Messi less is said about their defensive contribution if at all, these are 3 rare players though, Hazard was another one, Cherki would have to be that level of talent to get away with any lack of work rate, especially as a midfielder.

 

[1905]

Ronaldinho and Ronaldo are outlier though because their talent was so extraordinary for the talents like these two and Messi less is said about their defensive contribution if at all, these are 3 rare players though, Hazard was another one, Cherki would have to be that level of talent to get away with any lack of work rate, especially as a midfielder.

But we are talking about a rumoured £35m player here. Why does he have to be the finished article at 19? What happened to taking a risk on a young talented player and working on their weak areas over time?

This is a drop in the ocean for most big teams in the Prem so I don’t understand why attitude and workrate are at the forefront of discussion. I’d agree with everything being said if he was older and the transfer fee being rumoured was north of 60m, where you’d expect a more refined player.

 

[pocco]

He's a number 10, but not a Riquelme one or a Bruno one that makes players around better. He's a second striker that plays only for him.

Has a bad behaviour, thinks he's already Zidane.

Wouldn't buy him.

To be fair, he looks a very gifted player. We've seen first hand at United that there's a fine line between confidence that takes you to the top, and unfounded confidence that makes you too hard to work with and cast to the side.

I don't know a lot about his behavioral issues, but it's not uncommon for a 19 year old for there to be some. Look at what our own Mason Greenwood was up to even before the assault charges, he was constantly in trouble. Yet he was delivering on the pitch and fans loved him. Under Fergie I would be confident that typical behaviour of a very talented youngster would be stamped out or channeled properly to allow them to reach their potential.

 

[Righteous Steps]

But we are talking about a rumoured £35m player here. Why does he have to be the finished article at 19? What happened to taking a risk on a young talented player and working on their weak areas over time?

This is a drop in the ocean for most big teams in the Prem so I don’t understand why attitude and workrate are at the forefront of discussion. I’d agree with everything being said if he was older and the transfer fee being rumoured was north of 60m, where you’d expect a more refined player.

I think it would be a very good deal for 35m.

 

[Amadaeus]

To use the phrase replace it would be normal to look at what qualities a player brings to the team. What tasks they perform for the team. Considering the qualities of Cherki and Mount that is a weird take.

I really dont think Cherki «replace» anyone. He is a type of player they have lacked since Hazard. A player they have been trying to bring in for years, but have failed to.

Replace as in position in the starting eleven. I should have elaborated more. Mount was a key and impactfull player for Chelsea, whereas pulsic was just a squad player at best. I can see cherki being a key player for Chelsea the same way mount was in terms of numbers and even achievements if surrounded by the right players and disciplined