It was recently confirmed that former Chelsea star Eden Hazard would leave Real Madrid after reaching an agreement to terminate his contract.
The winger joined Los Blancos for around £88.5m in 2019, but his four-year stay in Spain was blighted by injury, which meant he scored just seven times in all competitions.
Hazard will be more fondly remembered by Blues fans, where he established himself as one of the club’s greatest-ever players.
An intoxicating blend of skill and flair with scintillating levels of output, he won two Premier League titles, two Europa Leagues, and an FA Cup.
Unsurprisingly, due to the ridiculous level he regularly exhibited at Stamford Bridge, the Blues have been unable to replace him and have trailed various forwards to underwhelming effects.
Kai Havertz, Timo Werner, Hakim Ziyech, Romelu Lukaku, Raheem Sterling, and Mykhalio Mudryk have all been added for sizeable fees, but none have got near to the frightening consistency that Hazard displayed on a weekly basis.
This season, due to the vast number of outgoings, new manager Mauricio Pochettino is back in the market for another attacker and the next name to tackle Hazard’s throne is Rayan Cherki.
What’s the latest on Rayan Cherki to Chelsea?
According to reputable journalist Dean Jones, Cherki is one of Chelsea’s main targets and the club is working hard to secure his signature.
Speaking exclusively to GIVEMESPORT, he said:
“If we are to look at Chelsea’s transfer activity in terms of a creator then Rayan Cherki from Lyon is probably the one.
“Quite a bit of work has gone into it and really it’s just a case of whether they go for him now or in 2024.”
It's been revealed by ESPN that Lyon will request around €40m (£34m) for his services and due to excessive spending of the new Chelsea ownership, this modest fee is unlikely to be an issue.
Shades of Eden Hazard?
It has been a stirring breakout season for Cherki, in which he has ruthlessly excelled for Lyon. In 21 Ligue 1 starts, the 19-year-old has recorded ten goal contributions, which meant he was the youngster player with this figure.
Moreover, he was also the only Lyon player and under 23 to record more than 100 progressive passes and 100 progressive carries. These impressive statistics mean that Cherki ranks within the highest 5% in Europe’s top five leagues among his positional peers for both these metrics per 90.
Despite his extremely young age, only Lionel Messi (70) and Kylian Mbappe (55) registered more chance-creating carries in the French top-tier last term, which are dribbles of five-plus metres ending in a key pass/shot. His dribbling is one of his most dazzling attributes, as he sits in the best 3% for successful take-ons and shot-creating actions per 90.
Eurosport France’s Martin Mosnier has predicted a huge future for the star and said:
“Cherki is an exceptional dribbler, one of the first things one notices when watching him is that he appears to be ambipedal, as he can seemingly utilise both feet equally well.
“His strengths are as follows: key passes, dribbling and his ability to create something out of nothing.
“He could very well become a Premier League star like Eden Hazard.”
Hazard made the move from Ligue 1 to England when he moved from Lille to Chelsea back in 2012, and both players have scintillatingly similar profiles.
If Cherki continues on his current trajectory, he can become the talisman, comparably to the diminutive Belgian.
