Manchester City sensation Rayan Cherki previously faced a secret trial at Chelsea before turning down a move to Stamford Bridge as he deemed it “too easy”. Charlton forward Myles Leburn has revealed details of Cherki training with Chelsea as a youngster.
The Frenchman, who was at Lyon at the time, turned up in west London “without the club’s knowledge”, The Sun reported. Lieburn recalled that Cherki was much better than everyone else and suggested that he turned down the transfer simply because he was good.
“He came over from France and was a rainbow flick player in training,” Leburn said.
“I thought: ‘Oh my god, this is unbelievable’. He honestly refused to play for Chelsea, probably because he thought it would be too easy! He was far better than everyone else and had absolute quality.
“That was one of the standout moments of my almost eight years at Chelsea.”
In the end, Cherki remained at Lyon, making 146 appearances in Ligue 1 before joining City for £32m last summer.
He has made 22 appearances across all competitions for Josep Guardiola’s side this season and has four caps for France.
Meanwhile, Leburn was released by Chelsea at the age of 16 and has remained at Charlton ever since. He achieved promotion from League One last season and established himself as a regular in the Championship.
“I was scouted at Kidbrooke’s development center and joined Chelsea when I was seven,” he revealed.
“I was playing for Cray Wanderers at the time and I started going to their training ground in Cobham at that age, but it wasn’t until I was nine that I signed a contract to only play for one club.
“So at the time Chelsea tried to convince you to sign and introduced you to some first-team players. I remember meeting John Terry, Fernando Torres, Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard.”
“For a young kid, it was pretty cool to meet top players like that. They were superstars and over the years you would see them as you passed the first team building on your way to the academy.”
“I remember seeing players like Oscar, Diego Costa and Eden Hazard.
“I was star-struck and it was in that moment that I realized how much potential my career could have had. It was a great time and I learned a lot that has shaped me into the person I am today.”
