Hugo Viana has already made a sensible transfer decision.
Manchester City have opted to move on from Florian Wirtz – who many considered to be the No.1 target for Pep Guardiola this summer – fearing that the total cost of the deal could end up being close to £252m.
As a result, Viana – the new Director of Football at the Etihad Stadium – will be tasked with finding an alternative source of creativity for Manchester City to replace Kevin De Bruyne.
However, the man from Barcelos already seems to have lined up a backup to Florian Wirtz, with a move for Rayan Cherki now far likelier to happen after the Frenchman bid farewell to Lyon.
Manchester City have already laid foundations to sign Rayan Cherki
Le Parisien in France claimed earlier this month that Manchester City had opened talks to sign Cherki, who is available for just £19m as he approaches the final 12 months of his contract.
Since then, some intriguing developments have occurred.
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Cherki posted “merci” on X (previously known as Twitter) as he appeared to say goodbye to Lyon, where he has played since 2010 after emerging from the academy.
Merci ❤️💙 pic.twitter.com/3f3BFGQe0j
— Rayan Cherki (@rayan_cherki) May 19, 2025
Furthermore, as aforesaid, Manchester City have also since opted to look away from Wirtz for financial reasons, so given the fact both the German and the Lyon No.18 play in attacking midfield, and the latter is available for just £19m this summer, we can see this move accelerating soon.
Rayan Cherki is actually more creative than Florian Wirtz
Some might consider the signing of Cherki to be a downgrade on Wirtz, but the 21-year-old has actually been more creative this season.
The Lyon wonderkid averages 2.5 key passes every 90 minutes in Ligue 1 this season, whereas Wirtz registers just 1.8 in comparison – according to WhoScored.
Impressively, Cherki has also created more chances than Lamine Yamal this term, a player many are tipping to win the Ballon d’Or for his outstanding efforts this season.
Rayan Cherki has created more chances than any other U21 player in Europe's top five leagues so far this campaign. 🔑 pic.twitter.com/Q62zFCVqqd
— Squawka (@Squawka) May 12, 2025
Therefore, Manchester City turning attention towards the France U21 international should not be scoffed at by any means, as he is clearly an elite talent too, despite the considerably lower price tag.