Getty Images

PSG in talks with Lyon over Rayan Cherki transfer as Ligue 1 champions eye extra attacking support for Messi & Co

Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain have opened talks with Lyon over a transfer for 19-year-old Rayan Cherki.

PSG in talks with Lyon
Hope to sign Cherki
Teenager would replace Sarabia

WHAT HAPPENED? PSG could still do business before the close of the transfer window and are negotiating with Lyon over a permanent deal for Cherki, GOAL understands. The Ligue 1 champions are hoping to bring in a replacement for Pablo Sarabia, who has completed a move to Wolves, and have targeted promising young attacker Cherki. The teenager would also be able to offer attacking support to the likes of Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe, whose long-term futures at the club are far from certain.

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas has responded to PSG's move on Twitter, and has made it clear just how much the club wants to keep hold of their young star.

"Rayan is a child of the club, who is a part of our project. Seeing him courted is normal and also makes us proud of our academy, but having him with us is more important than anything,” he wrote.

Article continues below

AND WHAT'S MORE: PSG have followed Cherki for a long time and tried to bring him to the club before he signed his first professional contract with Lyon in 2019. Lyon did tell Cherki at the end of 2022 they could be willing to let him go if he was not playing regularly, but the 19-year-old has since started five of the team's last six matches.

IN TWO PHOTOS: