Rayan Cherki has now held his first interview since sealing a £30.5m move to Manchester City.
The France international has signed a five-year contract at the Etihad Stadium, after an exciting 2024/25 campaign in which he scored 12 goals and assisted 20 more for Lyon across 44 appearances.
Cherki – who Manchester United wanted in 2019 – even won the UEFA Europa League Young Player of the Season award for his outstanding efforts.
Four of these goals – and 14 of these assists – came while the Frenchman was playing on the right flank.
However, a different position was named when Rayan Cherki was asked to say which area he would prefer to play under Pep Guardiola at Manchester City.
Rayan Cherki says he wants to play No.10 – a central attacking midfield role
The 21-year-old has now told the official Manchester City website: “My style is easy. I love to play with the ball, do skills and help teammates. I am here to make people happy and this is very important to me.
“I prefer to play No.10 but right now I just want to play. Where I am is not important, I just want to be on the pitch and help the team win. I am ready.”
It is good to hear that the man born in Lyon is happy to play anywhere if he cannot get a spot in his preferred area in central attacking midfield, as Guardiola and Manchester City fans may prefer to see him on the right.
| Position | Games | Goals | Assists |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attacking Midfield | 65 | 19 | 10 |
| Right Winger | 57 | 11 | 21 |
| Left Winger | 18 | 0 | 5 |
| Centre-Forward | 8 | 3 | 0 |
| Second Striker | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Right Midfield | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Central Midfield | 1 | 0 | 1 |
As you can see, Cherki is more efficient on the right flank in terms of overall goal involvements, where he causes chaos cutting inside on his left foot.
Having said that, Kevin De Bruyne has now departed for Napoli, and Ilkay Gundogan is approaching his 35th birthday, so there is less competition in the No.10 spot compared to on the right, where Guardiola has recently used Savinho, Bernardo Silva and Omar Marmoush.
Pep Guardiola has a true luxury player in Rayan Cherki
Ultimately, Guardiola has an abundance of options when it comes to using Cherki.
Not only can the Lyon academy graduate play in seven different positions – as the aforementioned table shows – but he is also a genuinely ambipedal footballer who can use both feet.
Jean-Francois Vulliez, formerly Academy Director at Lyon, tells Sky Sports: “We still do not know if his best foot is his right or left. In truth, he tends to favour the left but his shot with his right foot is explosive.
“At seven, eight, nine, it was the same. In other words, it was not something he had to work on. He could always play with both.”
It means Guardiola has a Swiss army knife of a footballer in Cherki, who can take set-pieces with either foot depending on what angle of cross is required, and generally cause opponents all sorts of headaches with his unpredictability.
