French football is suffering from vampirism. In the role of the bloodsucking villain, Paris Saint-Germain. In the role of the frightened blonde, Olympique Lyonnais. Indeed, as announced by The Team this Wednesday, PSG sent a first offer of 15 million euros (12 million in compensation and 3 in bonuses) to secure the services of Rayan Cherki. That is to say a year after the arrival of Bradley Barcola from OL and a few weeks after the departure of Kylian Mbappé to Real Madrid. Enough to question the sporting and organizational will of the Parisian club, but also the objectives of Cherki, whose career is still budding.
Go to PSG, but where to play?
In August 2023, Bradley Barcola returned to the capital after a small standoff with the Lyon management. Criticized, in particular by Les Gones supporters, the transfer of the young winger was nevertheless part of a certain logic. Firstly concerning the profile of the player, namely a hard-hitting winger, who comes to bring real added value on the wings – or even compensate for the departure (already recorded) of Mbappé in the long term. Then, regarding the construction of his career, since upon his arrival, Barcola had only established himself with the pros for half a season, and therefore had the necessary time to assert himself. The rest of the story seems to have proven the French neo-international right. So, how can we explain this similar approach by PSG for Cherki?
On the ground, the analysis seems vague. Let’s be clear, the goal here is in no way to debate the excellent technical quality of the midfielder, but simply to understand the role that would be given to him within his probable future club. A bit like with Hatem Ben Arfa in his time, PSG seems seduced by a player, without knowing how to highlight him in its ranks. Playmaker or right winger, ambidextrous, Rayan Cherki would be the ideal small space player to fill the Parisian system. Problem: Marco Asensio and Lee Kang-in already have this palette, and have demonstrated over the past season that they can easily adapt to the requirements (to a lesser extent, Carlos Soler can also join the list) . It would then be surprising to see Cherki agree to sign as a second or third choice.
New club, new reputation
In our columns, the person concerned clearly displayed his tactical preference, focused on the axis: “I can push the ball sideways, but I’m not going to be able to do it for all 50 games of the season. And that’s not really what I want to do either. Where I will bring the most to the team is where I played last season (on axis). » Not enough to frighten Luis Enrique visibly, since the two men were able to communicate at length via video in order to establish a first route plan. If no one knows the real content of this call, it in any case testifies to a tacit agreement between all the parties and above all, to the desires of each to carry out this transfer. Once is not custom.
It must be said that since 2020, the year of Rayan Cherki’s professional revelation, the player’s personality has always been described as difficult to define. Enough to gain an unflattering reputation (nonchalance, excess confidence) and to chill observers as to its success in a “ plus grand club » than Lyon. Especially since in recent years, the Parisian context has never really favored the success of expected players or players with strong personalities. Finally, it is always useful to specify that Cherki and its representatives collaborate closely with the FLA agency (Fayza Lamari Agency), belonging to Kylian Mbappé’s mother. A paradox, when we know the freshness of the relations between the Mbappé family and the organization chart of Paris Saint-Germain. For its part, if Olympique Lyonnais considered that this offer of 15 million euros was insufficient and demanded 30% on the resale of the player, the next one should not take long to be accepted. Nothing could be more normal, for a club threatened by the DNCG and in search of liquidity. For Rayan Cherki, 20, perhaps it all starts today.
Comments by Rayan Cherki taken from So Foot #215.
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