While it is too early to predict which team is most likely to challenge Liverpool for the Premier League title next season, Manchester City’s summer business indicates they are ready to go toe-to-toe with them.
Steven Gerrard backs Manchester City to test Liverpool in the title race in the following campaign and the Reds legend may have a point as Rayan Cherki, Rayan Ait-Nouri and Tijjani Reijnders are statement additions.
Furthermore, Pep Guardiola has never gone more than one season in his career without winning the league.
Khaldoon Al-Mubarak revealed Manchester City’s hunger as a group to bounce back in the following campaign, as all signs suggest that Guardiola’s troops could be out for revenge next term.
Bad news for Liverpool as Rayan Cherki could be Man City’s next Erling Haaland
Ahead of the new season, Rayan Cherki and Florian Wirtz are likely to dominate several discussions, as City and Liverpool look set to have two of the best young attacking midfielders within their respective ranks.
However, Cherki has cost Manchester City £33 million while Liverpool have agreed a Premier League-record deal of €150 million (£127.6 million) for Wirtz is reminiscent of when both clubs signed Erling Haaland and Darwin Nunez respectively.
In the summer of 2022, Manchester City signed Haaland for £54.5 million while Liverpool shelled out £85 million (Sky Sports) to sign Nunez — with the Norwegian becoming one of the biggest bargains in Premier League history and the Uruguayan failing to live up to the billing after being a star at Benfica.
While Florian Wirtz is an excellent player, Manchester City may have arguably signed a superior player in Cherki for less than a third of the fee as for one, he provided more goal involvements (32 compared to 31) than the former last season.
Creatively, Cherki has the edge on the German international, creating the third-most chances (125) after Raphinha and Bruno Fernandes last season while providing four more assists (20, Wirtz amassed 16) during the previous campaign.
One of Wirtz’s standout traits is how he can beat players effortlessly but Thierry Henry raved about Cherki’s dribbling by claiming: “I’m not talking about his quality, because I have never seen a player in history who dribbles as quickly as him, with both feet.”
The Bayer Leverkusen midfielder is far more established than the Frenchman but he has far more pressure to take the Premier League by storm than the Frenchman at Liverpool.
Cherki looks like a steal for Manchester City and even if he has a testing debut season, he will be given much more time by fans and pundits alike to impress than Wirtz, who could be the most expensive player to ever grace English football.
Erling Haaland stats compared to Darwin Nunez in their debut seasons
As Wirtz chose Liverpool over Manchester City, Pep Guardiola will be hoping the youngster is made to regret his decision by Cherki.
Going back to the 2022/2023 season, Haaland outperformed Nunez by a considerable margin in both players’ debut campaigns, which could be a worry for Liverpool.
Haaland scored a staggering 52 goals in 49 starts for City while going on to win the treble while Nunez bagged just 15 in comparison while starting 23 fewer games at the time.
