When Manchester City confirmed the signing of Rayan Cherki on the 11th of June 2025, it had felt like a victory for Liverpool.
The Reds would announce their own attacking midfield arrival just nine days later, with supporters revelling in the mammoth deal to buy Florian Wirtz.
Wirtz may have cost over £80m more than Cherki, but the fact that Liverpool had beaten City to one of European football’s great talents had made the Frenchman seem like a consolation prize.
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Alisson before Marseille vs Liverpool - UEFA Champions League
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During his six months at the Etihad Stadium so far, Cherki has proven himself to be anything but. Unlike Wirtz, the 22-year-old hit the ground running and while Liverpool’s No. 7 has since caught up a little, Cherki’s tally of 20 goal contributions is still comfortably better.
All of this has led to Reds supporters wondering whether they should have been signing the France international as well as, or even instead of Wirtz. Arne Slot held a meeting with Cherki just before his move to City accelerated, and in the opinion of Rousing The Kop, this was a big chance missed for Liverpool.
Liverpool were close to signing Rayan Cherki
When news broke that Slot had had a sit-down meeting with Cherki and his representatives in early June, it sent Liverpool fans into a panic.
There had been an, ultimately correct, feeling that it was either Cherki or Wirtz last summer and not both of them. A meeting suggested that the Wirtz deal may be in peril.
Rayan Cherki puts his hands on his head after a near miss during Manchester City's Premier League match at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Photo by Rob Newell – CameraSport via Getty Images
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A new report from The Times has given some further clarity into the nature of Slot’s face-to-face with Cherki, confirming that the former Lyon star had been a ‘back-up plan’ to Wirtz – for both Liverpool and City.
That the Liverpool head coach took a meeting in early June was reportedly just in case anything went wrong late into the £100m+ deal for the Bayer Leverkusen man.
It did not, and Cherki headed to City instead. Had something fallen through with Wirtz, however, it seems very likely that Liverpool would have pounced for the cheaper alternative.
Who REALLY got the better deal here? Liverpool or City?
Should we have signed Cherki instead? 😬
Florian Wirtz applauds fans after Liverpool's UEFA Champions League victory over Eintracht Frankfurt at Deutsche Bank Park (Credit: Getty Images/Christian Kaspar-Bartke).
Rayan Cherki celebrates after scoring for Manchester City during their Premier League match at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (Credit: Getty Images/Rob Newell - CameraSport).
Photo Credit: Getty Images/Christian Kaspar-Bartke/Rob Newell – CaemeraSport
Liverpool should have signed Cherki and Florian Wirtz
Clearly, Liverpool will hold few regrets about how the summer eventually panned out. They knew Cherki was a super player and would likely be a success at City, but still believe they’ve got the better talent.
Nevertheless, given how stretched Liverpool have been in forward areas this season, there should be some annoyance that the Reds did not go all out and sign both of these players.
Though they are similar, Cherki is left-footed, and could have provided an excellent option given the struggles of Mohamed Salah this season. Just imagine him and Wirtz in the same team with Hugo Ekitike, they would cause defences all sorts of problems.
For £34m Cherki was well worth taking a punt on, and even if he had turned out to be a squad player it would have been money very well spent.
There was obviously an interest on the City star’s part as well. If it was the Etihad and the Etihad only, then why would he agree to meet Slot just one week before his big move? Wirtz may very well go on to eclipse anything Cherki does, but even if that is the case, this was an opportunity which Liverpool should be kicking themselves for missing.
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