This summer, like every other summer, saw a lot of superstars join the Premier League. Liverpool dominated the headlines, splashing upwards of £400 million on signing the likes of Wirtz and Isak. Manchester United spent a fair bit and completely overhauled their attack. Of course, Manchester City also began their rebuild in the past two windows, bringing in the big stars.
While the big stars have had all the spotlight, one signing has gone under the radar it’s Manchester City’s midfield acquisition, Rayan Cherki. He might not have grabbed all the attention, but he sure needs our attention.
Why Cherki might be the best signing of the Premier League season.
After a poor season, where Manchester City finished third in the Premier League, 13 points behind the League winners, they were knocked out in the Champions League Playoffs by Real Madrid and went Trophyless. Pep Guardiola started an overhaul of his squad.
Manchester City brought in the Top scorer of the Bundesliga, Omar Marmoush, in the winter, and in the summer, they went all out again, signing the likes of Rayan Ait Nouri, Serie A’s most sought-after midfielder, Tijjani Reijnders, and, of course, Rayan Cherki.
Rayan Cherki might have cost City the least when compared to their other signing, but he could prove his worth in gold given his massive potential. In Pep’s words, “ Rayan is one of the most talented players I have ever seen in my career.” This, coming from a guy who has coached the likes of Messi, Iniesta, and Xavi, to name a few, means a lot.
Manchester City needed a creative midfielder; they were missing that creative spark last season in the absence of Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden. With De Bruyne leaving, City needed a permanent solution, and that’s why they signed Cherki.
He finished top of Ligue 1 for assists, shot-creating actions, and penalty area passes while playing for Lyon, and Pep can take his talent to another level. We have already seen a few glimpses of that.
Cherki was quick to show his flair in the FIFA Club World Cup, and he even scored on his Premier League debut. After a promising start, he got injured, and that derailed his momentum.
But since his return from injury, he has had 4 Goal contributions in 2 games, including a man of the match performance against Swansea. We have already started to see his link-up with Erling Haaland; those pinpoint passes into the space, allowing Haaland to run past the defence and score, are something Kevin De Bruyne did time and again.
I’m not comparing him to De Bryune, but Pep does see Cherki filling that creative void because we can see that he has pushed Phil Foden deeper into the midfield, allowing Cherki to occupy the space in the attacking third. The Kind of form Haaland is in, Cherki could rack up a lot of assists.
Maybe a couple of years down the line, we might be talking about the Rayan Cherki deal the same way people the Erling Haaland transfer turned out, an absolute steal!
