- 18 hours ago
Rayan Cherki: ‘Big balls’ and boxing as Man Utd target finally lives up to wonderkid billing
Robin Bairner
- 13 Mar 2025 08:35 CDT
- 4 min read
Analysis
Rayan Cherki has long been touted as the next big thing to come out of Ligue 1 but after years of flattering to deceive, the Lyon talent is finally putting it together and has a very real case to make a move to a giant club next summer.
Consistency rather than talent has always been Cherki’s problem. The brand of off-the-cuff football he plays can serve to frustrate both fans and coaches in this ultra-structured era of the game. It’s something he actives rails against, and this rebel attitude has made it even more difficult to justify a big move.
Attitude, too, has been a concern in the media, if not necessarily among his team-mates. He was frozen out of the Lyon side early in the season as he rejected a new contract and seemed destined to leave in 2025 as a free agent. Depart Parc OL he will, but through the front door as a hero if he keeps going the way he has been lately.
Current ETV
Rayan Cherki
AM, M (C)
Lyon
Rayan Cherki
AM, M (C)
Lyon
ETV Range
€28.3M - €34.5M
Cherki finds ‘maximum efficiency’
While PSG have been winning plaudits for their European performances, Cherki has been shining a little out of the spotlight in the Rhone Valley.
His tally of seven goals for the season is already the best he has achieved in his burgeoning career, despite starting his campaign late, but that is only the tip of the iceberg. He is a formidable creative machine, churning out chance after chance for others and he is starting to be decisive on a match-by-match basis.
Going into Thursday’s Europa League last-16 encounter with Steaua, he had three goals and eight assists across his previous seven games.
On Sunday, he netted within 30 seconds of coming off the bench against Nice, propelling Lyon to become the first visiting team to win at the Allianz Riviera in Ligue 1 this season.
“It is important to understand that Rayan is a very special player with incredible talent, but one who benefits greatly from the collective,” OL assistant boss Jorge Maciel, standing in for the suspended Paulo Fonseca explained after the game.
In other words: don’t expect him to do a power of defensive work. It's something Lyon are working on.
Give him the ball in even a modicum of space, though, and expect to profit.
“He’s one of the best passers in the league,” Maciel enthused.
L’Equipe went one step further, proclaiming: “Rayan Cherki has added a new string to his bow: maximum efficiency!”
STATS
Rayan Cherki
AM, M (C)
Lyon
Rayan Cherki
AM, M (C)
Lyon
Cherki has big balls and a hell of a punch
One of the secrets to his success has been using boxing as an outlet.
“It helps him above all to manage his emotions and stress,” Lyon coach Faycal Omrani told Le Parisien.
“When he arrives at the gym, he leaves his life in the locker room, he becomes someone else, a fighter. Here, he is an average man because in a boxing gym everyone respects each other but no one takes any notice. He also comes looking for an outlet, to release any negative emotions he may have.
“Rayan is ready to fight, he has a huge pair of balls, he has sick footwork and a hell of a punch. People would be surprised to see his boxing level. In boxing, you work on resilience and you learn to get out of your comfort zone. When you learn to fight, you gain self-confidence.”
What next for Cherki?
With an Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) of just €31.4 million and a contract that expires in June 2026, Cherki is potentially one of the bargains of the summer.
Liverpool have been following his progress while Manchester United are interesting candidates to sign him. So too are PSG, but Cherki is represented by Fayza Lamari, Kylian Mbappe’s mother, and the ongoing dispute between the Ligue 1 champions and their former player could make this a tricky deal to negotiate.
Luis Enrique’s free-flowing offensive side, though, look a good bet for Cherki, who would fit in with the technically focused philosophy.
Wherever he ends up, though, excitement is likely to follow.
