Before Rayan Cherki signed for Manchester City this summer, several questions were posed about his attitude.
Alexandre Lacazette admitted Cherki had a “negative” reputation before he had a chance to play alongside the 22-year-old at Lyon where he realised that his former teammate had an excellent work ethic.
Being in the public eye, footballers are often judged for no rhyme or reason and it seems like the same transpired with the youngster.
However, it seems like the French international seems to be gelling well with his teammates at City as Erling Haaland and Cherki seem like close friends.
Rayan Cherki smiling during Wolverhampton Wanderers v Manchester City - Premier League
Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images
Pep Guardiola says he admires Rayan Cherki’s desire to improve
At the end of the day, Rayan Cherki will be focused on being in Pep Guardiola’s good books.
Guardiola claimed Cherki is an “unbelievable” player as the midfielder seems to have already impressed him on the pitch.
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However, Manchester City fans should be excited about the fact that the veteran told Men In Blazers that the player is keen to improve to thrive in the Premier League, a mindset he admires: “He’s an incredibly talented player. He can use both feet, he’s top. And of course, we know him a little bit from Lyon, but now we have to start to know each other.”
“Now he knows exactly what we want, what you have to do. And had the feeling, the mindset that I want to transcend. He had the feeling he wanted to become a good player for us and a good player for the Premier League.”
“And always when we sign one player, that is what I’m looking for, his desire, his passion. It’s something like when you are six, seven, eight, nine years in one place, after winning, winning, you drop a little bit inevitably. So, that is not the question.”
Cherki wants to lead by example at City, a mindset Pep Guardiola believes is key: “So, we need the players that want to continue the legacy that is, you know, all names that you named before can continue, you know, for that club. They want to continue to be up there.”
David Ornstein shared what Man City did to check on Rayan Cherki’s personality
Considering the Manchester City boss is a serial winner, the silky maverick’s mindset is one he would have instantly gravitated towards.
While players such as Kevin De Bruyne, David Silva and Vincent Kompany to name a few were exceptional footballers, their burning desire to win was perhaps the secret behind the Sky Blues’ success.
Journalist David Ornstein revealed Manchester City do background checks before signing players and he believes no fresh face, such as Cherki in this instance can come through the door without Pep Guardiola’s approval: “There have been some questions, fairly or not about his character, it’s not for me to say, he’s actually addressed them publicly. But you don’t get into the France picture without being a pretty solid personality and City would have done their due diligence on him, it goes without saying in terms of conversations with people that know him, people that have worked with him, with him personally.”
Ornstein added: “None of City’s signings come without Pep Guardiola’s blessing and so, presumably, he’s been in some of this dialogue.”