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This week's big stories in French football.

Could Chelsea come back in for Rayan Cherki amid Lyon struggles?

Lyon’s miserable season continues and there are already clubs lining up to raid them for some of their best players this January. I think relegation is starting to look a very serious possibility for Lyon after just three points and zero victories from the club’s first nine games of the season, despite John Textor seeming to laugh the idea off at every opportunity.

If you look at Lyon’s record, though, it’s no laughing matter - they’re doing worse at this moment in time than a lot of other previously relegated clubs have done by this stage of the season. Lyon may feel they’re too good to go down, but you just have to look at some of the clubs in Ligue 2 right now like Bordeaux and Saint-Etienne - no club is too big to go down in France, and I think Lyon are absolutely in a relegation battle.

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Fabio Grosso has just come in as manager and I think it’s a questionable appointment, while we also know that several players wanted out in the summer. It’s not a happy place to be at the moment. Rayan Cherki is one name whose future could be in doubt, and there’ll be plenty of European clubs monitoring him and other players because as well as sporting issues on the pitch at the moment there are also real financial difficulties for Lyon.

A lot of players already wanted to jump ship before the start of the season, and they still could. Cherki will certainly be one to keep an eye on, though I don’t know for sure if Chelsea plan to come back in for him - the Blues had an interest in him in the past, but one problem with him is that clubs are becoming increasingly aware that he has massive attitude problems.