Chelsea, Newcastle suffer blow in their pursuit of 20-year-old playmaker

French midfielder Rayan Cherki has been linked with a move to the Premier League in recent weeks.

A report from L’Equipe claims that clubs like Chelsea, Newcastle United, Aston Villa and West Ham United were all keen on signing the 20-year-old midfielder this summer.

However, it seems that the playmaker will continue at Lyon for another season at the very least.

Apparently, Chelsea have already made an attempt to sign the talented young midfielder earlier this summer. The other three Premier League clubs are all making attempts to sign the player before the summer transfer window closes but a move seems unlikely.

Chelsea could definitely use a quality creative midfielder and Cherki will help them create goal scoring opportunities and open up deep defenses with his technical ability, passing and vision.

Similarly, Newcastle United could use someone like him in the final third as well. They struggled to score goals consistently last season and someone like Cherki will help create more opportunities for the Newcastle attackers.

The 20-year-old is highly rated around Europe and he has a big future ahead of him. He has the tools to develop into a top class player and regular football in the Premier League could accelerate his development.

The 20-year-old can operate as the central attacking midfielder as well as a winger. He contributed to 5 goals and 6 assists across all competitions last season and those numbers are likely to improve when he is playing alongside better players at Chelsea or Newcastle.

The post Chelsea, Newcastle suffer blow in their pursuit of 20-year-old playmaker appeared first on CaughtOffside.