Manchester City are pushing to get a deal done for Lyon’s Rayan Cherki.
With everything in place for Man City to announce the signing of Tijjani Reijnders from AC Milan, Cherki is the other star the Premier League club are pursuing as Pep Guardiola looks to revamp his midfield ahead of the 2025/26 campaign.
The attention on the 21-year-old grew massively on Thursday night as the midfielder came off the bench in France’s 5-4 defeat to Spain, with the Lyon star lighting up the pitch with a goal and an assist, which left French media heaping praise on Cherki.
Now that there are more eyes on the French star’s situation, Man City will want to get the deal done; however, the Premier League side are yet to agree a transfer fee with Lyon.
- READ MORE: Rayan Cherki’s performance for France vs Spain will have actually filled Man City with slight regret
Rayan Cherki is relaxed about Man City move
The transfer fee has been the main issue between Man City and Lyon when it comes to the signing of Cherki, as the player has already agreed personal terms with the Manchester club.
David Ornstein has stated that everyone associated with the Cherki deal is confident that it will get done. Sky Germany’s Florian Plettenberg is now reporting that the French star is relaxed about the deal, that is despite Lyon rejecting City’s first offer for the midfielder.
“Lyon have rejected the first offer from Manchester City for Rayan Cherki,” Plettenberg reported on X (formerly Twitter). “The second offer is now being prepared. Negotiations are ongoing. Cherki is waiting for an agreement between the clubs.
“(Cherki is) Totally relaxed and fully focused on his match against Germany on Sunday. He could possibly be in the starting XI after his excellent performance against Spain.”
Lyon expect between £29m-£34m (€35m-€40m) to part ways with Cherki, and with Man City keen to have the midfielder in their squad for the FIFA Club World Cup, it can be expected that the Premier League club will match that asking price.
One player City have already agreed a transfer fee for is Rayan Ait-Nouri, and Fabrizio Romano has now shared how long the left-back has signed for at the Etihad Stadium.
- READ MORE: Micah Richards already has a concern about Rayan Ait-Nouri joining Manchester City from Wolves
Rayan Ait-Nouri signs Man City contract until 2030
Left-back has been a problem position for Guardiola for some time now, and the legendary coach will be over the moon that he finally got his man, as the Man City boss has wanted Ait-Nouri since 2020.
Everything is agreed between the clubs and the player for the transfer to be officially announced, with Fabrizio Romano reporting that only the medical is left, which will take place on Saturday before the Algerian signs his City contract until 2030.
A five-year contract shows how much faith Man City are putting in the 24-year-old, who hope the Wolves star can reach the heights Joao Cancelo did in the role, who was the last full-back to truly shine on the left of Guardiola’s back four.
It is now only a matter of time before the transfer is officially announced, and Man City fans are likely to get a first glimpse of Ait-Nouri in sky blue during the FIFA Club World Cup.
