During this meeting, Cherki equalized (1-1) then delivered an assist to Malick Fofana to allow Lyon to lead 2-1 at the start of the second half. For a long time, the youngster, originally from Lyon, trained at Olympique Lyonnais and who started professionally at the age of 16 years and two months in 2019 under the orders of Rudi Garcia, displayed too much inefficiency in the zone of decision based on his talent.
Contract extension
“In this position, in this category of player that he wants to be, he must be decisive. You can have all the talent you want, at the end of the day, statistics remain statistics. If he scores goals, we will start to see him differently. He deserves it because he works a lot,” warned OL coach Laurent Blanc between October 2022 and September 2023. This summer, Cherki was relegated to a “loft” bringing together the players the club wanted to see transferred. His departure was unsuccessful despite more or less extensive requests from Paris Saint-Germain, Borussia Dortmund and even Fulham.
After the end of the transfer window, Cherki extended his contract by two years, which expired in June 2025, in order to be transferred next summer. Towards PSG, finally, where he would join Bradley Barcola whom the Parisian club had preferred in the summer of 2022 for a transfer of €50 million? He was reintegrated into the squad and saw his playing time increase, either as a substitute with convincing entries, or at kick-off, in attack or as playmaker, his preferred position.
“I haven't changed much actually, I've always loved Football and work, even if you don't necessarily see it behind your computer screens and your phones,” he said smiling on the lips, addressed to the media at a press conference on Wednesday. “I found the footballer I want to be, I want to give pleasure to my teammates and the spectators. Football is watched less today and I want to bring back the football of the past,” he continued.
Joy and a lot of work
“The more I play, the better I feel, that’s obvious, and the more I create automatisms with my teammates. What I experienced this summer was not easy to deal with. It allowed me to find my way. I try to do nice things with the ball, to be happy, to be a dribbler, while remaining efficient, of course, because you like that,” added Cherki, a bit ironically. Not just the media because clubs are increasingly fond of the famous data in modern football where statistics are scrutinized.
