West Ham manager Julen Lopetegui at a press conference(Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
West Ham United director Tim Steidten is reportedly keeping an eye on Lyon winger Rayan Cherki ahead of the January transfer window.
According to The Athletic, the talented young French forward has long been a player on the Hammers’ radar, and it seems he’s someone the club could look at again this January.
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The Athletic note that Steidten has been keen to recruit from Ligue 1, having signed Jean-Clair Todibo from Nice in the summer, so it could be that the east Londoners will try something similar here.
Cherki has shone for Lyon and looks like the kind of player who could be a big hit in the Premier League, even if he’s not always been the most consistent or reliable performer.
Could Rayan Cherki be the new Dimitri Payet for West Ham?
If West Ham were to pull off the signing of a bit of a maverick French forward like this, it will no doubt remind a fair few fans of Dimitri Payet when he was at the London Stadium.
Payet was another superbly gifted footballer who didn’t quite make the most of his talent due to lacking that consistency required to play for the very biggest clubs.
Still, he was always a joy to watch and provided West Ham fans with some memorable moments and classic goals.
Cherki seems like a similar style of player, so it would be interesting to see if he could replicate that kind of success at West Ham and build himself a reputation as a fan-favourite and cult hero.
Of course, one imagines Lyon’s financial situation will have a number of clubs on alert for their best players, with Cherki likely to be someone that plenty of top sides would love to sign if possible.
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