Premier League star had secret trial with Chelsea before £30m transfer to rivals

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Manchester City playmaker Rayan Cherki once underwent a secret trial with Chelsea and, subsequently, turned down his proposed switch to Stamford Bridge because he found it 'too easy'. Charlton striker Miles Leaburn has revealed details of the time when Cherki was training with Chelsea as a youngster.

The Frenchman Cherki - who was playing for Lyon at the time - turned up in west London without his club even 'knowing about it', according to The Sun .

Leaburn stated: "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!

"He was miles better than anyone else - absolute quality. That was one of the stand-out moments of those eight years or so I spent at Chelsea."

Ultimately, Cherki remained at Lyon - racking up 146 appearances for the Ligue 1 outfit before sealing a £32million transfer to City last summer. This season, he's featured 22 times for Pep Guardiola's squad across all competitions and has also earned four caps for France - starting in their 4-0 triumph over Ukraine , and appearing as a substitute in the 3-1 win in Azerbaijan - both World Cup qualifiers.

Leaburn, meanwhile, was let go by Chelsea at 16 and has been at Charlton ever since. He secured promotion from League One last season and has become a regular fixture in the Championship.

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The 22-year-old, son of Charlton legend Carl, recalled his journey to professional football.

"I joined Chelsea when I was seven after they scouted me at a development centre in Kidbrooke," Leaburn said. "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 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 star-struck there, but it's at those moments you understand the magnitude of what potentially can come in your own career. It was a great time and I learned a lot that has made me who I am today."

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