Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of Olympique Lyonnais’ upcoming Ligue 1 match against Lens, Pierre Sage was asked about Rayan Cherki (20) and the need to reintegrate him back into his squad after a move in the summer transfer window failed to materialise.
The OL academy graduate was poised to leave the Groupama Stadium on more than one occasion. A potential move to Borussia Dortmund failed to materialise after a late change of heart at the Bundesliga club. Dortmund’s divisional rivals RB Leipzig also showed an interest in Cherki to replace Barcelona attacking midfielder Dani Olmo but pursued other targets.
Fulham were the Premier League team to show an interest in signing the Lyon attacking midfielder, but the French U21 international rejected the advances of the West London club in favour of staying at his boyhood club. Cherki could now be set to sign a contract extension with Lyon, according to L’Équipe.
The 20-year-old was placed in the ‘loft’ as he looked set to leave Lyon but is now back training with the first team squad. Sage spoke about a potential need to reintegrate him, “We don’t need to reintegrate him, he was already at home here. He has always maintained his relationship with us. We had to get him back in the saddle. We have the idea that he is fit to play as quickly as possible. This is due to the fact that he is training and that his contractual aspects are managed. We will see if he is in the group this weekend.”
