Man Utd & Chelsea target Cherki set for 'showdown' with Mbappe's agent

Tom Weber

• Updated: 1 Feb 2024 21:17 GMT
• 3 min read

Lyon wonderkid Rayan Cherki will be the subject of an intense transfer battle in the summer after failing to secure his Premier League move.

The 20-year-old is having a strange old season, now made even worse by the fact that he did not manage to get his January move to England despite Fulham's best efforts. The Cottagers reportedly attempted to pull off a shock Deadline Day move for the highly-rated attacking midfielder.

Nothing ultimately materialised, meaning that the youngster will remain with his boyhood club until the end of the campaign. A few months ago, under then-coach Fabio Grosso, Cherki was banished from Lyon's starting eleven and while things have been looking up for him and his club recently, it would have been understandable for him to push for a January exit given the circumstances.

Yet, despite the failed move, the France U21 international's transfer saga may have only just begun. Cherki will most definitely be eyed by Premier League sides again in the summer and the Kylian Mbappe clan will have a big part to play in a future transfer.

Cherki set for 'showdown'

Cherki, who has previously been eyed by Chelsea and Man Utd, is one of the few but high-profile stars represented by Fayza Lamari, the mother and agent of Kylian Mbappe. Lamari is set to play a key role in facilitating his exit, something that is looking increasingly likely as his contract is up in 2025.

Indeed, according to Ed Aarons of The Guardian, there will be a "high-stakes showdown" between Cherki and Lamari to get his exit under wraps - and Lyon will need to cash in on their wonderkid.

The fallen French giants spent heavily in January in a bid to improve upon their dire first half of the season but they did so without offloading any players of note, meaning that they will have to sell in the summer to balance the books. Cherki, who could be available for as little as €35 million, is expected to be one of the players to get offloaded.