During a finishing drill with the French national team, a ball is fired at Rayan Cherki from behind the goal. He cushions the chest-high pass, but it bounces awkwardly, making a two-touch goal from inside the ‘D’ seem improbable. Yet, without adjusting his feet, Cherki steps forward and nonchalantly whips a half-volley into the top corner.
Astonished whoops from his teammates only encourage him, and he proceeds to put on a clinic. A right-footed shot goes in off the post. Another sequence begins with a spinning back-heel touch, followed by a powerful left-footed strike. He pings another into the far corner with the laces of his right boot before juggling the final ball and volleying it with the outside of his left. As his fellow internationals plead for more, a coach steps in to end the display.
That coach was Gael Clichy, the former Arsenal and Manchester City full-back, serving as an assistant to Thierry Henry with France’s Olympic team. “It was a fun game at the end of the session, but it is nothing for Rayan,” Clichy explains. “It’s not one I like him to do, because it is that easy. There is no opposition, no obstacle, no creativity to make the player come out of his comfort zone. For him, it is to kill the ball and finish. He can do this for 20 minutes straight and score goal after goal.”
Clichy adds, “There are not many exercises you can create to make Rayan feel uncomfortable. That is how good he is. It is like Arjen Robben with two left feet, or David Beckham with two right feet.”
Having honed his own weaker foot to become a left-sided professional, Clichy understands the advantage of being so gifted on both sides. For Cherki, this ambidexterity makes him a maverick. “It means there are no weaknesses when you have the ball,” says Clichy. “As a full-back, if I played against Aaron Lennon, for example, I would close down the line and send him onto his left, as I knew his left foot was weak. With someone like Rayan’s two feet, if you send him wide, he will go wide. If you send him inside, he will come inside. If you give him space at any angle around the box, he will shoot with either foot. Thank God he is not that fast. In terms of talent, I have never seen someone like it.”
Cherki represents a rare breed of player, an off-the-cuff dribbler arriving in a Premier League that increasingly favours structured systems. A stocky playmaker who often slows the game to a walking pace in a league defined by relentless intensity, his stylistic clash with English football is part of his appeal.
“He is the kind of player fans want to see. He is fun to watch,” Clichy notes. “The main quality Rayan has is that even when he is not performing to his best, he can still be decisive. With him, even if he is 70 per cent, he will deliver. Even if he is 50 per cent and ill, if you find him around the box, he will give an assist or a goal.”
Playing with a blend of Samir Nasri’s agility and Dimitri Payet’s ball-striking, Cherki has been quick to showcase his match-winning credentials since returning from a thigh injury. His contributions include a goal and an assist against Swansea City in the Carabao Cup, two assists for Erling Haaland against Bournemouth, and goals against Borussia Dortmund and Wolverhampton Wanderers. In total, he has amassed six goal contributions in just 271 minutes since joining from Lyon in June.
His destination could have been different. Liverpool closely tracked Cherki this summer before prioritising Florian Wirtz. Manager Arne Slot still held a scheduled meeting with the playmaker, but by then it was clear he would not be joining the champions. Manchester City capitalised, securing his signature for approximately €40 million (£33.7m).
Manager Pep Guardiola is already finding ways to harness his talent, starting Cherki alongside Phil Foden in a fluid system against Bournemouth. Cherki demonstrated his vision by playing Haaland through on goal twice, all while showcasing his smooth dribbling and inventive link-up play in tight spaces.
“As a manager, he can be frustrating for many reasons—but it is very rare you see anyone with this much quality,” Clichy concludes. “He is not a complete player, but in terms of in-possession and being creative, there is no limit to what he can do.”
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