Why Liverpool want Rayan Cherki with Lyon star amongst Europe’s best

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Wanted by Liverpool 

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Rayan Cherki has been tipped for greatness since gaining the reputation as one of the greatest ever prospects to progress through Lyon’s famed academy. Nabil Fekir, Karim Benzema, Anthony Martial and Hatem Ben Afra are amongst the most notable players to emerge through Lyon’s academy this century but Cherki possesses arguably the most natural talent. 

Cherki became the third youngest debutant in Lyon history – now fourth – when he featured against Dijon in 2019, just two months after his 16th birthday. His incredible technical ability and creativity always separated him from his peers but the Frenchman’s development hasn’t been linear. Cherki has faced questions over his attitude and professionalism but the prodigiously talented attacking midfielder has matured recently and he’s blossoming under the tutelage of Paulo Fonseca.

The appointment of Fonseca as Lyon boss on January 31st has been the apparent catalyst to Cherki’s revival in form. It was widely reported that the Ligue 1 club were willing to cash in on the attacking midfielder in January for around €25 million with Borussia Dortmund, PSG and even Fulham linked. Before Foncesca’s arrival, Cherkis has scored 22 goals and provided 32 assists in 166 games for Lyon – averaging 0.33 goal involvements per game. But under Fonseca, Cherki has three goals and ten assists in just nine games, averaging 1.44 goal involvements per game.

The French U21 international has flourished since being deployed on the right with the freedom to drift and impact the game. Corentin Tolisso has taken Cherki’s mental role but his movement allows his teammate more space in possession and it’s paying dividends. The Frenchman has inspired Lyon to the quarter-finals of the Europa League and no player has provided more goal contributions than Cherki (10.) Moreover, only Ousmane Dembélé and Mohamed Salah have registered more contributions than Cherki, since the start of February when Foncesca took charge. The Lyon star was rewarded with a €5 million upgrade in the recent Ligue 1 market value update and several European giants are amongst his suitors this summer, including Liverpool, as he enters the last year of his contract.