Exclusive: Fulham encounter huge hurdle in bid to sign Newcastle, Crystal Palace target

TEAMtalk can reveal Fulham have encountered a significant hurdle in their efforts to sign attacking midfielder Rayan Cherki, despite reaching an agreement with Lyon over a transfer fee.

Cherki made his Lyon debut as a 16-year-old in 2019 and has since made 141 appearances for the French side – scoring 17 goals and bagging 25 assists.

In the past few months, he has been linked with a move to Fulham, but Liverpool, Tottenham, Newcastle United, and Paris Saint-Germain have also been credited with an interest in the France Under-21 international.

Earlier this year, Cherki addressed the speculation surrounding his future, with the 21-year-old now in the final year of his Lyon contract.

In April, he said: “I don’t think about what’s next at all. My future will wait, until the end of the season. Lyon comes first. When the time comes to ask the question, we will ask it, but it is not yet the time.”

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Since then, he has played for his country at the Olympics – where they ended up securing a silver medal after losing to Spain in the final – and struggled for game time for Lyon’s first-team.

He was not in Lyon’s squad for their Ligue 1 season opener away at Rennes on Sunday, a game they lost 3-0, and now speculation is mounting that he will leave the club.

Sources: Newcastle, Crystal Palace also keen on Cherki

Sources have confirmed to TEAMtalk transfer insider Rudy Galetti that Fulham agreed a €15m (£12.7m) deal for Cherki but there is still work to do to get this deal over the line.

TEAMtalk understands that Lyon have decided against offering him a new contract and he is not in their plans for the season.

It is understood that after he tried and failed to push through a move to PSG and Borussia Dortmund – with whom he was negotiating personal terms – Fulham pressed ahead to recruit the youngster.

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The fee that Lyon accepted was the same amount that PSG presented, except Fulham offered €5m (£4.2m) more in bonuses. However, TEAMtalk can reveal that Cherki has no intention of accepting the Premier League team’s proposal.

Cottagers boss Marco Silva is an admirer of the player but that will not be enough to convince Cherki to head to Craven Cottage.

It is not beyond the realms of possibility that he may head to the Premier League this summer, with Newcastle and Crystal Palace enquiring about the Frenchman.

But, TEAMtalk understands there are concerns about his character, which may halt a move for the player – who is also being monitored by Lazio and teams in Spain.

Sources describe Cherki as ‘hot-headed’ and that has put off some of his suitors. Due to these complications, it is not out of the question that Cherki stays at Lyon until January.