Rayan Cherki breaks silence on Man City move after dazzling France cameo
Manchester City target Rayan Cherki spoke about his future after an entertaining cameo in France's 5-4 defeat to Spain
Manchester City are closing in on the signing of Rayan Cherki as the France star admitted the move is 'getting done' The 21-year-old Lyon star is expected to join the Blues shortly along with Tijjani Reijnders and Rayan Ait-Nouri to boost their squad for the Club World Cup and beyond.
In the meantime, Cherki was representing France as they battled Spain for a place in the final of the UEFA Nations League. The midfielder came off the bench with his side 4-1 down and quickly saw Spain saw another but then played an integral part in helping France to nearly pull off a remarkable comeback.
Cherki scored in the 79th minute and got an assist in injury time as France pulled it back to 5-4, but it simply wasn't enough to stop the mighty Spain, who will go on to face Bernardo Silva and Ruben Dias's Portugal in the final on Sunday. Earlier in that day, France will play Germany to see who finishes third and fourth in the competition.
If that has Cherki's attention for now, a move to City is also on the horizon. Asked about it after the game, the playmaker confirmed his expectation that it would happen.
“It’s getting done," he said. "But you already know my answer, everybody knows.
"But there’s still a game to play. Now we have to enjoy and give everything, but after it will be done.”
City are still thrashing out a deal for Lyon with Cherki, with the French club in need of sales to boost their position ahead of the end of the financial year. A fee of around £30m could be enough to come to an agreement, although negotiations are ongoing.
Cherki will add to the momentum that City have gained in the transfer window since agreeing a deal for AC Milan midfielder Reijnders earlier in the week. A deal for Wolves left-back Rayan Ait-Nouri is also close to give City exactly the boost they need to take them into the Club World Cup and next season.
Pep Guardiola gave his thoughts on new signings this week, saying that what he wanted most from the recruits was players with the personality to deliver on the biggest stages. "Always the same: Give me good players," he told ESPN.
"The rest, it doesn't matter. The good players can adapt and adjust. We will adapt the movement or tactics or whatever things we say as managers for the quality of the players.
"And especially [give me] players that go to Anfield, go to [Real] Madrid, the Bernabéu, Barcelona, Camp Nou or wherever and say: 'OK, I'm going to play my best.' That is the difference, the top players have that.
"But we are not adjusting for the fact that we [had a tough season]. If we win, I don't have to adjust anything? That is a mistake. When you win, you also have to adjust things.
"Day by day, game by game, week by week [you adjust]. Of course we are going to adjust some things, but not for the fact that we just won the Community Shield."
The FIFA Club World Cup will see 32 of the world's best club teams including Man City, Chelsea, Real Madrid, PSG and Bayern Munich play across 63 games from June 14-July 13.
Fans can watch every match live and for free by signing up to DAZN.
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