Rayan Cherki had secret trial at Chelsea but turned them down as former player reveals all

Rayan Cherki turned up at Cobham training ground for a so-called secret trial and was “miles better than anyone else”, according to former Chelsea youth player Miles Leaburn.

Back in 2015, when he was still on the books at Lyon, a 12-year-old Cherki is said to have travelled over to London for a trial at Chelsea.

Lyon were unaware of his presence in the capital, according to Leaburn, who remembers Cherki’s time at Cobham as being one of the standout moments from his nine-year spell at the club.

“He came over from France and was rainbow-flicking guys in training,” Leaburn told The Sun. “I was thinking, ‘Oh my God, this is incredible.’ He honestly rejected playing for Chelsea because he probably found it too easy.”

“He was miles better than anyone else — absolute quality,” added the Charlton Athletic striker. “That was one of the standout moments of the eight years or so I spent at Chelsea.”

Cherki, who has never spoken about the alleged trial, would return to Lyon and go on to make 146 appearances for the Ligue 1 side before securing a £32 million switch to Manchester City last summer.

Cherki is said to have trialled at Chelsea when he was younger. Image credit: Getty

Leaburn, meanwhile, was released by Chelsea at 16 but made it as a professional with Charlton Athletic. He has made over 100 appearances for the Championship side.

Speaking about his nine-year spell at the Blues, Leaburn recalled meeting Fernando Torres and Didier Drogba when he first joined the club.

“I joined Chelsea when I was seven after they scouted me at a development centre in Kidbrooke. I was playing for Cray Wanderers at the time,” he said.

“I started going to their training ground at Cobham from that age but it’s not until you’re nine that you sign a contract, committing to only one club.

“So at that time Chelsea, in a bid to woo you into signing for them, introduced us to some of their first-team players. I remember meeting John Terry, Fernando Torres, Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard. It was such a cool thing for a young kid to meet top players like that.”

Rayan Cherki also turned down approach from Manchester United

As well as catching the eye of coaches at Chelsea, the talented Cherki was being tracked by Manchester United, according to talkSPORT.

In fact, United are said to have made a proposal to the Frenchman when he was playing at under-15 level, but Chekri decided to stay with Lyon before making his first-team debut in 2019.

He would become a first-team regular at the Parc Olympique Lyonnais before joining Manchester City last summer.

Cherki, who has been one of the Premier League’s standout performers this season, has yet to perform a rainbow-flick during a game, but don’t be surprised to see it happen in the not-so-distant future.