Manchester City
The Premier League may be falling in love with Rayan Cherki, but former France star Christophe Dugarry is having none of it. He’s simply not a big fan of the 22-year-old Manchester City star.
Foot Mercato report comments from the former France star today. And it appears he’s not quite caught Cherki fever yet, despite his latest impressive performance.
Manchester City improvement
Rayan Cherki joined Manchester City in a €36.5m deal from Lyon in the summer transfer window.
He had long been regarded as one of the French rising talents at Lyon, where he came through their youth ranks before establishing himself in the first team.
Manchester City elected to move for him in the summer and have not regretted that decision since.
Cherki has stepped up his game considerably under Pep Guardiola’s leadership, despite not yet firmly establishing himself as a starter under the Spaniard.
To date he has three goals and ten assists in 26 Premier League games. In all competitions, that tally is nine goals and 13 assists in 43 games.
Dugarry unconvinced
The latest impressive performance came against Chelsea as he bagged two assists in the 3-0 win. Most watching credited Cherki as the man who turned that game in City’s favour after a close first-half at Stamford Bridge.
That performance has earned rave reviews in England. But back in France, the critics remain, and Dugarry is one of them.
“He’s different from whom? What is Cherki’s style? Are the others blind? Are they clowns? Who is this guy different from?” he said.
“Why should we treat him differently? Is he better than Olise, is he better than Doué? Is he better than Barcola?
“We need to stop thinking that every time he touches the ball, it’s a one-man show… He needs to be more efficient in his game. Pep Guardiola said it, and he also explained that he needs to press more, and in modern football, that’s important.”