Manchester City enter transfer race to sign Lyon’s Rayan Cherki | OneFootball

Etihad Stadium officials have now entered the race to sign Lyon attacking midfielder Rayan Cherki and bring the player to Manchester City this summer.

The latest developments come as Manchester City recruitment bosses work to revive Pep Guardiola’s playing squad off the back of a hugely challenging season across competitions, largely due to an ageing roster and a whole host of injury and fitness problems.

Kevin De Bruyne has been confirmed as the first major exit from the playing squad as club officials opted not to extend the Belgian’s contract beyond its expiry at the end of June, and the belief is that the 33-year-old will join Serie A Champions Napoli on a free transfer.

As such, Manchester City are targeting an able replacement for arguably their greatest-ever player and certainly one of the finest creative midfielders to grace the game as a whole, but have already moved on from their priority option.

It was claimed in the last few months that Bayer Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz was the ideal candidate to take on the vacant role left behind by De Bruyne, however City have since withdrawn interest due to concerns over the growing finances involved in a prospective move.

Now, while there is believed to be ongoing interest in the likes of AC Milan’s Tijjani Reijnders and Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White, the club may also be looking at a lower-cost option currently plying his trade in the French game.

That is according to the information of The Telegraph’s Mike McGrath, who reveals that Manchester City have now joined the race to sign Lyon’s Rayan Cherki, viewing the midfielder as a potential summer signing as part of their squad rebuild.

Having already confirmed his expected exit from the French club, it is stressed that such a move has sparked Premier League interest, with clubs widely believing the 21-year-old has a release clause in his contract of between £20 million and £25 million.

Additional reporting from market insider Fabrizio Romano has echoed McGrath’s initial report, confirming that Manchester City have Cherki on their shortlist for the summer window and are informed on the conditions of a potential deal.

It is believed that Cherki is now standing alongside Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White as a solution for the available number 10 role in Pep Guardiola’s squad, although there is no indication as to which player is currently City’s priority.

In the UEFA Europa League alone, Rayan Cherki emerged as one of the standout performers in the competition for the French side en route to a quarter-final meeting with Manchester United, providing the most assists, goal involvements, big chances created, and key passes.

Across all competitions for Lyon during the 2024/25 season, the product of the French club’s Academy system recorded 44 appearances with 12 goals provided alongside 20 assists from his role in a fluid attacking midfield position whilst claiming a long list of individual honours.

Alongside his place in the UNFP Ligue 1 Team of the Year, Cherki was also the top assist provider in the French top-flight as well as the league’s ‘Dribble of the Year’, while his individual rewards also came in European competition.

In the Europa League, following his outstanding aforementioned contributions, Cherki was not only named in UEFA’s Team of the Season for the competition, but was also their Young Player of the Season.