Rayan Cherki might just inspire Manchester City to the Premier League title in his debut campaign for the club. His form has been integral to the turnaround Pep Guardiola’s side have made as they are breathing down Arsenal’s neck in the title race after their 2-1 win this weekend. The Frenchman was on the scoresheet. The week before, he assisted twice against Chelsea.
If things had worked out a bit differently, Cherki could have ended up as a Chelsea player. He was on the club’s radar back in 2023.
Even then, there was a recognition of his mercurial talent. He has not exactly come out of nowhere and become the Premier League’s favourite entertainer.
Back in 2023, Lyon had looked open to the prospect of letting him go for the right offer. But it looks like Chelsea were not convinced. As reported by Nathan Gissing back at the time, the Blues were not big fans of his attitude.
Chelsea did not like Rayan Cherki’s attitude
One can only wonder what Chelsea think of Cherki now. He has taken to the Premier League like a duck to water. In his debut season for Manchester City, he has 10 goals and 13 assists to his name.
On top of that, some of the football he is playing is sublime. Despite being 22 years of age, he is pushing his team towards victory and many believe he should be named the Player of the Season. That seems exactly like the kind of attitude a player should have in a team built for winning constantly.
As for Chelsea, they cannot score a goal at the moment, forget about winning things. The Blues could certainly do with someone of Cherki’s quality right now. Only if they had made a different decision about three years back.
Chelsea’s recruitment has been their biggest weakness
It would be safe to say that Chelsea’s recruitment has been their biggest weakness. Yes, they have been able to find a few decent players. But overall, after spending north of a billion pounds, you expect a team to be competing for pretty much every trophy under the sun. The Blues cannot even qualify for the Champions League.
One could argue that they have passed up the chance to sign better players than the ones they have actually signed. Cherki is one we have already mentioned. Another is Michael Olise, who has gone on to become one of the frontrunners for the Ballon d’Or at Bayern Munich.
Olise spent seven years at Cobham. And Chelsea came agonisingly close to signing him from Crystal Palace. But once again, it did not happen, and look what he has gone on to achieve since then.
