Manchester City expert Steven McInerney from Esteemed Kompany believes that "special footballer" Rayan Cherki has the potential to develop into "one of the best in the world" if he joins Pep Guardiola's side this summer.
The 21-year-old is expected to leave Lyon ahead of the new season after enjoying a superb 2024-25 campaign for the Ligue 1 giants, recording 12 goals and 22 assists in 44 appearances across all competitions.
With Kevin De Bruyne leaving Man City when his contract expires this summer, Cherki is believed to be one of Guardiola's primary targets for the No.10 position and talks are ongoing over a deal in excess of €30m that could be finalised before the FIFA Club World Cup begins later this month.
McInerney is excited by the prospect of Cherki wearing sky blue at club level next season and has likened aspects of the Frenchman's game to that of De Bruyne, former Chelsea star Eden Hazard and ex-Man City and Arsenal playmaker Samir Nasri.
Speaking to Sports Mole, McInerney said: "Stupidly talented. He's the kind of footballer that makes you fall in love with football, a real throwback of a footballer, a streets-don't-forget kind of footballer but of high-level quality. There is a real magic to his game.
'Cherki is technically one of the world's best players'
"I don't know if he'll become one of the best players in the world, but technically he probably already is. He's of that level of ability where not many in football can match him. Full stop.
"There's a big gap between being one of the most technically complete footballers and one of the best footballers, because the best put it together all the time.
"There's a reason why people like Adel Taarabt never got much further than cult status at QPR, despite being ridiculously gifted, because they didn't quite have the mentality or the focus or the consistency. There's a long way between Taarabt and [Lionel] Messi, or Taarabt and Kevin De Bruyne.
"Cherki is an absolute superstar in France right now. He's having a breakout season with immense contributions all over the pitch... De Bruyne was so, so complete and Cherki has not quite got the same power as De Bruyne, but he does have a range (of passing) that's not too dissimilar.
"I've seen him play 50-yard passes right onto someone's on-running feet. I've seen him play reverse passes with his left or right foot, or he's done a trivela cross and found the forward at the back post, just totally unexpectedly.
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"Pep does give the keys to special footballers"
"Disguised passes everywhere, two-footed, a wonderful dribbler, he reminds me a little bit of Hazard actually, the way he moves - maybe not quite as electric in terms of pace as Hazard, but not far off. Fast, great dribbler two-footed, just remarkable vision.
"The rumours are that it is Guardiola who wants him. It's Pep's idea which gets me excited, because all the discourse around him is: 'Oh he's not a Pep player'. Pep does give the keys to special footballers. He does.
"That's the thing about Guardiola - if you're special, he will give you the keys because he understands magicians need to be treated that way. If he's as good as he thinks he is, or as we think he is, and Guardiola likes him, he could be really special. I think everything could go for him.
"This guy is magic. How far will he go? It depends on him because many talented footballers haven't quite reached their potential. He reminds me a little bit of Samir Nasri actually, the Samir Nasri at Arsenal, really gifted but Nasri always had slight focus issues and so on. If Nasri had the work rate of De Bruyne, who knows how far he could have gone.
"Let's see how good Cherki is going to be. I think Guardiola is going to bring him in. I think he's going to put him probably on the left or right. I don't think he'll put him as a number 10. He might do, but he's played a lot on the right for Lyon. He was effective there but then he drifts all the way across the frontline.
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"You can play anywhere really. You can put him as a false nine, he'd be fine there as well. He's just a ridiculous footballer and I can't wait to see him in a City shirt, because he's so versatile.
"[He has] so many different ways to break down a team, be it his insane vision, left or right foot, great burst of speed, incredibly quick feet in tight areas, slows the game down perfectly, delays a pass just enough to get those passing channels open, lovely flicks and awareness. He's just a special footballer.
"I can't speak highly enough of him. He's like the signing you'd make on FIFA for your dream team. I can't wait to see him in a City shirt, if it happens, because I think he could be a really, really special footballer."
Can Guardiola be the right manager to harness Cherki's true potential?
While several European clubs including Man City are said to see huge potential in Cherki that could be harnessed by the right coach, his temperament and defensive work rate are considered by some as weaknesses to his game.
Thierry Henry, who has coached Cherki at France Under-21 level, has warned interested suitors that the attacker must receive tough love from whoever is managing him in the future and needs to be encouraged to contribute defensively.
Discussing whether Cherki can reach his potential under a coach like Guardiola, McInerney said: "It's entirely down to Cherki and what he wants. He's 21 years old, it feels like he's been around for a long time but he's still very young and he's never played at the level that City are about to put him at, in terms of the intensity of the Premier League.
"Ultimately, it'll come down to Rayan Cherki if he wants to put those miles in. I do think he's worth a go, because I think he's so majestically talented.
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'This is Cherki's chance to become one of the greatest'
"If he's smart, he'll realise that this is his chance to be one of the best in the world, maybe one of the greatest, he really could be that good given his natural talent.
"He might not be the hardest trainer, but what I do know is that he's an absurdly gifted footballer who impacts games, and given that City are probably going to really try to assert the controlled [style of play] again - with the likes of [Tijjani] Reijnders coming in and we're linked to Rayan Ait-Nouri at left back who is a very technical footballer, Rodri is coming back as well - you think City are going to try and build a side that can really smother teams again and camp outside boxes.
"At that point, you wouldn't have to do a lot of defending. If you can have Cherki in your team then that will make a massive difference. Maybe if we play against a team like Arsenal or someone like that, maybe that's when Cherki might be on the bench and Guardiola might put the runners in who can work a little bit harder.
"I think Cherki is going to City, if he does, because he wants to challenge himself, because he wants to learn from the very best, he wants to fulfil his potential...All he's got to do is give it a few months of trying really hard and before you know it, it'll be part of who he is and I'm sure if the success and plaudits come, that'll be the affirmation he needs to carry on in that direction.
"If it doesn't work, £35m, we'll probably still get a lot of that money back, but I think it's worth the risk given how talented he is".
McInerney has also suggested why the signing of Cherki "could end up being a better signing" than former transfer target Florian Wirtz, who is allegedly close to completing a British-record move to Liverpool.
Press play on the video at the top of this article to hear the full discussion.
Oliver Thomas
