Chelsea Transfer News: The Blues readying opening bid for £34m-rated Lyon star to replace Christian Pulisic

Chelsea Transfer News, the Blues are readying an opening bid for Lyon attacker Rayan Cherki as they look to bring in a new attacker to replace the departing Christian Pulisic, according to reports.

The west London club have already had a busy summer with 10 first-team players leaving – and around £200million brought in from those sales – though Mauricio Pochettino wants to trim his squad even further.

Romelu Lukaku, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Hakim Ziyech and Callum Hudson-Odoi are all expected to be offloaded in the coming days and weeks.

In other Chelsea transfer news, Pulisic is closest to the exit door, however, with AC Milan having made an improved bid worth £19m after the USA star made it clear he did not want to join Lyon, who also tabled an offer.

Although Chelsea have added Nicolas Jackson and Christopher Nkunku to their ranks this summer, the huge summer exodus has left the side a little light on options both in midfield and attack.

They are already looking to bring in Brighton's Moises Caicedo to reinforce their midfield and now ESPN claim they have identified Cherki as the man to bolster their attacking options.

The 19-year-old is regarded as one of the most promising young players in France, netting four times and laying on six assists in Ligue 1 last year after enjoying a particularly productive end to the season.

He continued that form in the Under-21 European Championship with some eye-catching displays despite France's disappointing campaign and Chelsea's scouts were impressed with what they saw.

According to TeamTalk, Cherki wants to join Gusto at Stamford Bridge this summer. The report states that the Blues have a good relationship with Lyon and officials from west London have already held talks over a potential move.

Cherki is valued at around €40million (£34m) by Lyon and they are prepared to cash in, with the club currently struggling to adhere to France's financial fair play rules.