Man City star Rayan Cherki had secret trial with Premier League rivals and was ‘rainbow-flicking guys in training’
MANCHESTER CITY star Rayan Cherki once had a top secret trial at Chelsea — but REJECTED the West Londoners because he found it too easy!
That is the astonishing revelation from Charlton striker Miles Leaburn, who was on the books of the Premier League giants as a kid at the time.
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Man City star Rayan Cherki had a secret trial at Chelsea but turned the Blues downCredit: Alamy
Miles Leaburn was on trial with Cherki and is now looking to down Chelsea with Charlton in the FA CupCredit: Alamy
Leaburn, 22, remembers vividly the day in 2015 that Man City’s French winger rocked up at Cobham as a 12-year-old and took everyone’s breath away.
Cherki was on the books at Lyon and arrived in West London without his club even knowing about it.
Leaburn said: “He came over from France and was rainbow flicking guys in training.
“I was thinking, ‘Oh my God, this is incredible.’ He honestly rejected playing for Chelsea because he probably found it too easy!
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“He was miles better than anyone else — absolute quality. That was one of the standout moments of the eight years or so I spent at Chelsea.”
Cherki ended up staying put at Lyon and made 146 appearances for the club before making a £32million move to City in the summer.
So far he has made 22 outings for Pep Guardiola’s men in all competitions and won two caps for France — starting in their 4-0 win over Ukraine and came on in their 3-1 win in Azerbaijan, both World Cup qualifiers.
Leaburn — son of Charlton legend Carl — was released by Chelsea aged 16 and has been with the Addicks ever since, winning promotion from League One last season and being a regular in the Championship.
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He takes on the Blues this weekend in the FA Cup at the Valley.
And Leaburn remembers how Chelsea wooed him to sign for them by introducing their superstars.
He said: “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.
“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.
“They were superstars and over the years you’d also see them when you walked past the first-team building en route to the academy.
“I remember seeing Oscar, Diego Costa, Eden Hazard, those sort of players.
“I was starstruck but it’s at those moments you understand the magnitude of what potentially can come in your own career.
“It was a great time there and I learned a lot that has made me who I am today.”
