Manchester City to loan player to Lyon as part of Rayan Cherki transfer agreement | OneFootball

Lyon are expecting a Manchester City player on loan for the 2025/26 season as part of the agreement struck over a permanent transfer for Rayan Cherki, according to reports.

The information comes as the Premier League side reach an agreement over their third successive arrival into Pep Guardiola’s squad in just a matter of days, with the weekend bringing about two completed rounds of medical testing.

Rayan Ait-Nouri is understood to have been the first player to come into Manchester City’s set-up as he penned a long-term contract on Sunday following the completion of a medical 24 hours prior and an agreement with Wolves last week.

Then it was the turn of AC Milan’s Tijjani Reijnders to finalise his own switch from Italy, temporarily leaving the Netherlands national team camp on Sunday to undergo a medical and sign documentation to make him the second new face at the Etihad Stadium.

And with just over 24 hours remaining in the first part of this summer’s transfer market, with the window closing on Tuesday evening ahead of the FIFA Club World Cup and re-opening on Monday 16 June, City have finalised a third deal in Lyon’s Rayan Cherki.

According to the information of L’Equipe’s Hugo Guillemet, Manchester City and Lyon have struck an agreement over a deal worth an initial €40.5 million for the 21-year-old plus a further €2 million in potential bonuses.

The Ligue 1 side have also managed to secure themselves a 15 per cent sell-on clause related to any profit Manchester City make on the midfielder in future, should he decide to move on from the Etihad Stadium.

Most interestingly however, it is claimed that the two clubs have also agreed to seeing one player from Pep Guardiola‘s side join Lyon on loan for the duration of the forthcoming 2025/26 season – although the name of the player remains unknown at this stage.

A number of Manchester City players face uncertain futures over the course of the next few weeks, while other younger and more promising stars could see Lyon as an ideal destination to develop themselves at one of the highest levels in the European game.

Among the senior players to be weighing up their future this summer is Jack Grealish, who is set to be left out of the FIFA Club World Cup squad by City to decide his own next step, with a sale preferred but a loan not ruled out for the Englishman.

Elsewhere and Claudio Echeverri is likely to be sent out on loan, particularly given the arrivals brought into the club, while Vitor Reis and Juma Bah could be handed opportunities away from the Etihad Stadium to further strengthen their case for a place in City’s longer-term future.