If Pep Guardiola wants to sign another baller, he needs to respect their instincts
After his goalscoring cameo on his France debut against Spain, Thierry Henry said of Rayan Cherki that he had never seen a player dribble as quickly as he. High praise from a fleet-footed Prem all-star and French hall-of-famer.
Like Cherki, Henry was once coveted by Pep Guardiola. At Barcelona, however, Henry was not the pivot he was at Arsenal, but one of many high-class ballers deployed in the service of one Leo Messi.
Fair enough, but it was a downgrade Henry was not entirely expecting. His role boiled down to hugging the left touchline and at every opportunity feeding the Messi machine, which begs the question of Cherki’s role at Manchester City.
While Henry was slotting into an established construct built around the Messi-Xavi-Iniesta axis, City are in a period of acute renewal. His Royal Highness Kevin De Bruyne has gone. Bernardo Silva and Ilkay Gundogan are in varying stages of decline. Out wide, Jeremy Doku and Savinho have slipped in and out of view, so there are holes to fill.
LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 25: Kevin De Bruyne of Manchester City acknowledges the fans after his final game for the team, following the Premier League match between Fulham FC and Manchester City FC at Craven Cottage on May 25, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Alex Davidson/Getty Images)
Cherki will aim to replicate Kevin De Bruyne’s creativity following the Belgian’s departure (Photo: Getty)
Cherki is equally adept with either foot. He can play wide, but prefers the No 10 role. Guardiola is a systems guy. Messi apart, he demands discipline of his tricksters.
There is no licence to embroider for its own sake. Harnessing his talent to the Guardiola method ultimately proved too much for Jack Grealish, on whom City burned a cool £100m.
Grealish was by no means a failure, but the joie de vivre that characterised his performances at Aston Villa has been largely absent at City, where playing under the critical eye of Guardiola seemed at odds with the idea he had of himself.
Though Cherki has always stood out and has been talked about as a generational player since breaking into Lyon’s first team at 16, he has none of the career baggage that came with Grealish, whose reputation was already established at Villa Park.
At 21, Cherki has yet to acquire big-dog power and should be happy to take Guardiola’s direction. In theory.
If you didn't know him, pleasure… It's Rayan Cherki 🤝🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/odw4AxJuUS
— Ligue 1 English (@Ligue1_ENG) June 5, 2025
He showed against Manchester United in the Europa League how effective he can be, scoring in both legs, and looked capable of taking Lyon all the way to Bilbao before Harry Maguire morphed into Bobby Charlton to turn a thrilling tie on its head in the dying minutes of extra time.
Cherki was the outstanding player on view, his performance triggering immediate links to Old Trafford, and alerting City to the need to move quickly.
His goal against Spain in an equally volcanic Nations League fixture would have had Guardiola salivating, the ball popping up off his right boot and blasted with his left in a swivelling action worthy of a certain Argentine.
Ultimately, the key at City is to restore the Erling Haaland supremacy. Twenty-two league goals out of a total of 31 in all competitions last season is hardly failure.
However, in Haaland currency, it represented a shrinking dividend and was considerably fewer than the monumental numbers he hit in his debut season at City, racking up 36 league goals out of a total of 52.
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - APRIL 06: Pep Guardiola, Manager of Manchester City, gives instructions to Jack Grealish of Manchester City during the Premier League match between Manchester United FC and Manchester City FC at Old Trafford on April 06, 2025 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)
The freedom that Jack Grealish had at Aston Villa has often been absent at City (Photo: Getty)
Cherki’s quick feet and vision have the potential to fill, in part at least, the void left by De Bruyne.
You can see why the pull of City would sway any talented kid, and why, at £34m – slightly less than what United paid for Joshua Zirkzee – any top club would want him.
It will, however, require Guardiola to be more sympathetic to the baller’s instinct than he was to Grealish and Cole Palmer before him – lads who love nothing more than indulging their love for running with a ball at their feet.
And of Cherki, it will demand discipline, not only to fulfil the Guardiola brief, but to retain his enthusiasm and belief when, as seems inevitable, he falls short of guru Pep’s impossibly high standards.