Manchester City Agrees Deal To Sign Rayan Cherki From Lyon

‎Manchester City has agreed to sign Rayan Cherki from Lyon.

‎According to The Athletic’s Transfer DealSheet on June 3, Manchester City was negotiating a deal for the 21-year-old forward and is optimistic about completing the transfer.

‎Liverpool manager, Arne Slot also left his holiday at the end of May and flew to the South of France to meet with Cherki.

‎An agreement between Manchester City and Lyon has been reached for a transfer fee of around €40 million (£33.7 million).

‎Additionally, Cherki has agreed to a contract with the City until 2030. The deal is in the final stages, and if completed in time, Cherki will join the squad for the Club World Cup in the United States later this week.

‎City begin their tournament against Wydad AC on June 18 before games against Al Ain (June 22) and Juventus (June 26).

‎During the 2024-25 season, Cherki achieved his highest attacking output to date, demonstrating his versatility by playing as an attacking midfielder and on the right wing.

‎He totaled 12 goals and 20 assists throughout the season. Notably, he scored in both legs of Lyon’s 7-6 aggregate loss to Manchester United in the Europa League semi-final.

‎Cherki was named to the Europa League Team of the Season. He also received his first call-up to France’s senior team for the Nations League knockout stage matches in June.

‎He made his debut as a substitute in the semi-final against Spain, scoring before starting in the third-place playoff win over Germany.

‎In February, John Textor, owner of Eagle Football Group, confirmed to Canal+ that Lyon would not need to sell Cherki to improve their finances. He emphasized there was “no chance” of such a sale happening.

‎Lyon were issued provisional relegation to Ligue 2 and a transfer ban in November, after accounts filed by Eagle Football Group showed its financial debt stood at € 505.1 million (£422m).

‎Last summer, Fulham had an offer for Cherki worth an initial £ 12 million, with further add-ons, accepted by Lyon. Crystal Palace and Paris Saint-Germain also held interest in the forward, who decided against a move.

‎At that time, Cherki had trained separately from his teammates in anticipation of a summer transfer.

‎Cherki made his debut for Lyon at the age of 16 in October 2019, and during the 2019-20 season, he became the club’s youngest goalscorer at 16 years and 140 days.

‎He also set the record as the youngest player to participate in a Champions League semi-final when he played against Bayern Munich at just 17 years and 3 days old. Overall, Cherki has made 185 appearances for Lyon.