Rayan Cherki seems set to become a Manchester City player in the summer.
Manchester City are confident about signing Cherki after pulling out of the race to sign Florian Wirtz, who could also make his way to the Premier League by joining Liverpool.
Cherki believes he could succeed under Pep Guardiola and is “ready” to play in any system.
However, Manchester City will be hoping that they secure the Frenchman’s services as soon as possible, considering clubs across Europe will be circling like sharks to sign him.
Liverpool boss Arne Slot met with Man City target Rayan Cherki
Rayan Cherki is one of the best up-and-coming midfielders in the world and it is natural that clubs would be willing to take a punt on him.
With Cherki set to cost £33.7 million, he would be a potentially low-risk, high-reward incoming for any club.
Liverpool seem to be aware of that being the case, with journalist David Ornstein reporting that Arne Slot left his holiday last week to jet to the south of France and hold talks with the Lyon attacker.
However, Ornstein mentioned in his report for The Athletic revealing that while the Reds’ prime focus remains on signing Wirtz, they decided to hold talks with Cherki, who Thierry Henry called “extraordinary” as a potential alternative to the German.
But it is important to note that the meeting between Slot and the youngster was held hours before their chase for the Bayer Leverkusen technician “accelerated.”
Furthermore, it is standard procedure for clubs to consider alternatives in case their priority target is not signed, which perhaps prompted Liverpool boss Arne Slot to meet Manchester City target Cherki.
Rayan Cherki compared to Florian Wirtz last season
City will be hoping that the Reds do not hijack their much-anticipated deal.
Considering Arne Slot led Liverpool to the Premier League title last season while Manchester City failed to win a trophy, in theory, Cherki would perhaps be enticed by a move to Anfield.
Both City and Liverpool would have done their due diligence on both players’ respective stats during the previous campaign.
| STATS LAST SEASON | RAYAN CHERKI | FLORIAN WIRTZ |
| STARTS | 34 | 36 |
| GOALS | 12 | 16 |
| ASSISTS | 20 | 15 |
Cherki topped Wirtz as a creator by providing five more assists (20) while the latter scored four more goals than him (16).
However, the fact that the former had one more goal involvement last season (32) despite making fewer starts goes to show why he is a truly special talent.
