Pretty much every Lyon player is up for sale this summer, though Rayan Cherki’s transfer situation remains complicated, according to French football expert Jonathan Johnson.
Speaking exclusively to CaughtOffside for his latest Daily Briefing column, Johnson explained that Cherki is currently training away from the rest of the Lyon squad, though potential moves to clubs like Fulham and Borussia Dortmund have fallen through.
According to Johnson, Cherki has certain issues that have made agreeing personal terms with other clubs difficult, and it could continue to be tricky for the Frenchman to find suitors.
This may end up meaning that Lyon keep Cherki and have to have an awkward reconciliation of some sort, but the Ligue 1 side also need to make sales before Deadline Day, so that means that Cherki and others are all available for the right price.
Cherki transfer situation explained after failing to secure Fulham and Dortmund moves
“Rayan Cherki’s story has been complicated for much of the summer and it’s still looking that way now as we edge closer to the end of the window. Cherki is now training away from the rest of the Lyon squad, with OL actively trying to move him on,” Johnson said.
“Fulham were one of the most recent suitors, while you also had the likes of Borussia Dortmund, but these links have fallen away. As previously mentioned, the big question about Cherki has never been his talent, it’s more his personality, his character and his application.
“So far, this has put off a lot of suitors and it may well put off future suitors. There may well come an awkward point in his relationship with Lyon where maybe they have to work him back into the fold, especially if he doesn’t make a move in this window and they have to work to boost his value again.
“Lyon did make some pretty significant promised sales to the DNCG which is the French football’s financial watchdog. They previously went over their budget and so in this promise were some pretty significant sales, so it wouldn’t surprise me to see them being pretty busy trying to get players out between now and the end of the window as they’ve not come close to that yet. Basically every player in that squad at this moment in time is available for the right price.
“Obviously some of those players will be more attractive than others, but it is a situation where clubs who have more than a passing interest in a player, could get a pretty reasonable deal for themselves. Cherki is one of those who continues to attract links, but one of the stumbling blocks is personal terms, as it seems trying to establish a good working relationship with future managers and coaches is a complicating factor.
“As things stand, it seems that Cherki may well end up being stuck in Lyon unless there is a late deal that comes together, but given the number of deals that have already fallen through, I think the chances are quite high that there might have to be some kind of awkward reconciliation and an attempt to move forward together between Lyon and Cherki, which could then potentially put him in the shop window between now and January. Still, I expect Lyon to be busy before the deadline so let’s see what happens in the next couple of days.”
