City have paid an initial £30.5million for the Lyon and France playmaker.
Rayan Cherki, centre, has shone for club and country in the past few months (Andrew Milligan/PA)open image in gallery
Rayan Cherki, centre, has shone for club and country in the past few months (Andrew Milligan/PA) (PA Archive)
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Manchester City have completed the signing of France midfielder Rayan Cherki from Lyon for an initial fee of 36million euros (£30.5m).
The 21-year-old moves after an impressive season with Lyon in which he scored 12 goals and provided 20 assists in 40 appearances.
He also made an eye-catching debut for France last week when he came off the bench and scored in a 5-4 Nations League loss to Spain.
Cherki has put pen to paper on a five-year deal which will keep him at the Etihad Stadium until 2030.
He said: “This is a dream for me. Honestly, to be joining a club like Manchester City and have the opportunity to make the next step in my career here is something very, very special.
“I have worked so hard for this all my life. I love this sport, and I can’t wait to develop further here in Manchester with Pep (Guardiola) and his backroom staff.
“Everyone knows how good City are – they have been so successful for many years now. The responsibility to help the team continue winning is something I want to embrace.
“I would only leave Lyon for a project I really believe in and everything at City suggests I can develop my game and help the team be successful in the future. I can’t wait to show City fans what I can do.”
His arrival comes on the same day City completed a deal for Chelsea’s third-choice goalkeeper Marcus Bettinelli and follows the £31.3million capture of left-back Rayan Ait-Nouri from Wolves on Monday.
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All three deals have been completed in time for the players to be registered for the group stages of the Club World Cup this month.
Director of football Hugo Viana said: “We’re very happy to have Rayan at City. We want to bring top talent to the club, and he falls into that category.
“He’s a player our scouts have watched for a long time, and we have all been impressed with his skill and creativity. I am convinced our fans will be excited to see him play.
“There’s no doubt that he’s now in the best place possible to develop further under Pep’s guidance and I really believe he can become a world-class player with our support and direction.”
City’s latest transfer activity continues an overhaul of the squad that began with the January signings of Omar Marmoush, Nico Gonzalez, Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis.
Further deals are also possible as the club respond to a disappointing season in which they failed to mount a strong Premier League title defence and exited the Champions League before the last 16.
Dutch midfielder Tijjani Reijnders has been heavily linked with a move to City from AC Milan as Guardiola looks to bolster his midfield options following this summer’s departure of Kevin De Bruyne.
In further business, City have installed former Liverpool assistant manager Pepijn Lijnders as Guardiola’s new number two.
The Dutchman, who served under Brendan Rodgers and Jurgen Klopp at Anfield, was available after being sacked as manager at Red Bull Salzburg last December.
His appointment coincides with that of James French as set-piece coach. French has been working at Liverpool for the past 13 years.