It has been eight-and-a-half years since he left but West Ham now have a very realistic chance to finally replace Dimitri Payet with a player just like him.
He has been trying to play it down but West Ham boss Graham Potter is facing a mammoth overhaul this summer.
Six players have been confirmed as leaving the Hammers already with loan duo Carlos Soler and Evan Ferguson joining Aaron Cresswell, Lukasz Fabianski, Vladimir Coufal and Danny Ings out of the exit.
Michail Antonio seems likely to join them with an announcement due soon on his future.
Mohammed Kudus and Lucas Paqueta – if he beats spot-fixing charges – are both for sale along with a number of other West Ham players to help raise funds due to PSR.
Potter wants to trim the size of his squad as he believes 26 senior players is too many to carry for a club not competing in Europe.
Why Cherki is a realistic target for West Ham
The Hammers have confirmed midfield and forwards are the priority in the transfer window.
Targets will have to be realistic and West Ham have stated they need to do ‘clever deals’.
And few will fit that brief better than Lyon and France star Rayan Cherki.
Mesmeric 21-year-old talent Cherki has been heavily linked with West Ham on several occasions including last summer and in January.
It’s easy to see why.
Payet is one of the best players to have graced West Ham in the Premier League era.
He lit up east London, English football and the Euros during an unforgettable 18 months.
Payet burned bright like a firework but his stay fizzled out like one too as he demanded to move back to France for family reasons.
Cherki has been likened to Payet in France and he does bear a striking resemblance to the former Hammers hero.
The way that the Lyon star glides around the pitch evokes memories of Payet in his pomp.
The young Frenchman is a true maverick. And Hammers fans love nothing more than a maverick.
West Ham are sorely lacking creativity, skill and guile in midfield and attack.
There were emotional scenes amid a raft of departures at the London Stadium over the weekend.
But sadness elsewhere could put smiles on faces at West Ham.
‘New Payet’ makes shock announcement after West Ham links
Tears flowed as the ‘new Payet’ Cherki made a shock announcement to the press after his West Ham links.
It was reported back in December that West Ham can sign Rayan Cherki for just £12.4 million this summer.
That’s because Lyon are in dire straits financially and could face being demoted to Ligue 2 by French authorities if they don’t pay down huge debts by the end of June.
Cherki is going into the last year of his contract at Lyon – meaning this is their last chance to make some money off the ridiculously talented playmaker.
Liverpool and Spurs have been linked with Cherki too but the former are now going for Florian Wirtz and the Hammers have a major advantage over the latter.
West Ham’s interest in Cherki should take nobody by surprise.
With money tight due to PSR and West Ham needing to be – by their own admission – ‘clever’ with their dealings – Lyon would be more inclined to do business with the east Londoners.
Because John Textor’s club still owe West Ham £12.3m in payments for Said Benrahma.
Lyon paid a £5m loan fee to take Benrahma from the Hammers last winter and made it permanent for £12.3m in the summer.
Benrahma was then sent on loan to Saudi side NEOM.
The money Lyon owe West Ham will be paid – like with the majority of transfers – in tranches of three or four instalments and forms part of Lyon’s massive debt.
So Cherki joining West Ham would pay off that particular debt overnight.
What about the player, though?
Well Cherki is definitely leaving Lyon next month – because he’s now said so himself.
Cherki tells press he is leaving Lyon
The France Under 21 star – who destroyed England back in March – left the pitch in tears when substituted in Lyon’s 2-0 win over Angers at the weekend.
Then Cherki confirmed to the gathered press in the mixed zone after that game that he has decided to leave Lyon this summer.
“Thanks to Olympique Lyon, the coach, the staff, the president, my teammates and all people at the club,” Cherki said when confirming he is going to be leaving – as reported by Fabrizio Romano.
Cherki will undoubtedly continue to be linked with some top European clubs given his talent.
But don’t count West Ham out. The Hammers are being consistently linked for a reason.
And there is a feeling that the rumoured interest from elite sides is already fading with doubts over where a star who plays so off-the-cuff would fit into a top team.
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