Man City have reportedly decided to begin ‘initial talks’ over a deal to sign Rayan Cherki in the summer transfer window.
The Lyon attacking midfielder is one of the most in-demand players on the market this year, with Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool all linked with a potential move.
Cherki, who can also play on the wing, has a release clause valued at just €22.5 million (£19m) included in his current contract.
The 21-year-old earlier this month signalled his intention to leave the Ligue 1 outfit at the end of the 2024/25 campaign.
Rayan Cherki is just different 🪄 pic.twitter.com/gXwccWIVWi
— Ligue 1 English (@Ligue1_ENG) October 21, 2024
Man City start ‘initial’ Rayan Cherki transfer talks
Fabrizio Romano claims that Man City have decided to “start initial talks” for Cherki as they look to rebuild for next season.
Following Kevin De Bruyne’s exit from the club, Cherki is “top of the list” of transfer targets, along with Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White.
The club have chosen to focused their squad building plans on those two players after deciding that a move for Florian Wirtz was too expensive. The Bayer Leverkusen star looks set to join Liverpool for a transfer fee in excess of €100m (£83.9m) including add-ons.
Cherki has been one of the most highly-rated youngsters in European football over the past few years and just enjoyed his best season to date for Lyon.
The attacker scored eight goals and provided 11 assists in Ligue 1, although it wasn’t enough to qualify the club for the Uefa Champions League as they finished three points outside the top four.
Cherki also contributed four goals and eight assists in their run to the quarter-finals of the Europa League, where they were eliminated by Premier League side Manchester United in dramatic fashion.
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