The 2025/2026 season will reveal whether Manchester City have managed to successfully replace Kevin De Bruyne.
Players like the now-Napoli midfielder are virtually impossible to replace but it seems like Rayan Cherki has been handpicked by City to succeed the Belgian international.
Xavi namechecked De Bruyne as Manchester City’s Lionel Messi, which goes to show how influential he was to this Sky Blues side.
Aside from being an outstanding player, the absence of the six-time Premier League winner’s experience and leadership could be sorely felt at the Etihad Stadium.
Kevin De Bruyne will surely be a fan of Man City signing Rayan Cherki
However, considering De Bruyne praised Bruno Fernandes for how creative and brave his playing style is, he would surely be a fan of Manchester City signing Cherki as his successor, judging by his comments in 2023: “I think he’s a creative machine, just in general. Being creative has a lot of different things around it in just creating chances but also sometimes you can give somebody a ball and he shoots from 30 meters so it’s always different.”
“But he’s always there, he takes a lot of risks so I like it and he’s been doing really well.”
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Cherki, described as “elite” by Gael Clichy is perhaps exactly the player De Bruyne would have liked to see replace him at Manchester City considering he too is incredibly creative, virtually two-footed and most importantly, a match-winner as well.
Manchester City FC midfielder Rayan Cherki
Photo by Carl Recine – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images
Furthermore, Rayan Cherki does not seem like the kind of player who ever shies away from taking responsibility, much like the 33-year-old.
So much so that Cherki promised to step up for Manchester City after his move to the Sky Blues was announced instead of downplaying his potential influence at his new club.
The Frenchman is a brilliant up-and-coming attacking midfielder but where he is most similar to Kevin De Bruyne is in terms of being naturally creative — something that perhaps cannot be said for most of their squad — with the 21-year-old’s eye for a pass and final pass enabling him to top assist charts for years to come.
STATS THE SEASON BEFORE MAN CITY MOVE KEVIN DE BRUYNE RAYAN CHERKI
GOALS 16 12
ASSISTS 28 20
Providing 20 assists in all competitions for Lyon last season, while Cherki may never become the legendary playmaker De Bruyne is, he profiles similarly to him in several respects, something the veteran may be happy about.
Rayan Cherki has already made a huge promise to Man City fans
Being a young player while being set to play his first season of Premier League football, expectations will naturally have to be tempered with regards to the French international.
However, Cherki vowed to improve Erling Haaland by creating chances at will for him in a Manchester City shirt, much like De Bruyne, which shows how much he backs himself.
Pep Guardiola admitted Cherki has impressed him and the signs suggest he could prove to be an outstanding signing.
If the highly-rated midfielder can even become half the player De Bruyne was in his pomp, City fans have every reason to be excited about watching him in action next season.