Doku stays as close as possible to Ghanaian roots
Manchester City's Jeremy Doku joins Mary Omatiga to discuss staying as close as he can to his Ghanaian heritage and how street football shaped the play style he brings to the Premier League now.
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New York Times
42 minutes ago
- New York Times
Rayan Cherki to Manchester City: Transfers TLDR
Manchester City have completed the signing of Rayan Cherki from French club Lyon for €36.5million (£30.9m, $41.7m). The 21-year-old France international has signed a five-year contract until 2030. He will be available to play for Pep Guardiola's side at the upcoming Club World Cup in the United States. As part of this summer's transfer coverage at The Athletic, in addition to breaking news, tactical analysis and in-depth reads, our Transfers TLDR series (you can read them all here) will bring you a quick guide to each of the key deals. Cherki has been marked out as a rare talent since an early age. Hailing from Lyon, he joined his hometown club at the age of seven. He trained with Chelsea as a youngster, to the annoyance of Lyon, and last summer was targeted by Fulham and Crystal Palace, but until now has remained a one-club man in terms of senior football. Advertisement Though he has Italian heritage on his father's side and Algerian on his mother's, he opted to play for the country of his birth, making his first two appearances in the Nations League's semi-finals and final last week. Steve Madeley With the ball, Cherki is an extraordinary talent the City fans can look forward to fireworks from. They are also getting somebody who can play in a range of positions and is genuinely two-footed — he has been known to take set pieces with both his left and right. Cherki has worked hard to improve his defending and tactical discipline but that remains the biggest question mark about his game, so City supporters should not expect to see a complete player from the outset. Steve Madeley Cherki will infuse creativity into a City team bidding goodbye to Kevin De Bruyne this summer after 10 mostly glittering years. The Frenchman has a gifted first touch and is an excellent ball-carrier, relying on delicate dabs with either boot and trickery instead of pace to beat defenders. Cherki's technique in controlling the ball is spectacular, as he showed while scoring on his international debut against Spain in the Nations League semi-finals last week. A Goal of the Tournament contender from France debutant Rayan Cherki 🥵#UNLGOTR | @AlipayPlus — UEFA EURO (@UEFAEURO) June 5, 2025 His two-footedness gives City manager Pep Guardiola options, as Cherki has played on both wings and as an attacking midfielder for Lyon. His out-of-possession game does require fine-tuning, though. City's shift to using ball-carriers to generate creativity in recent years means Cherki, in theory, should fit in. A transition period is to be expected, however, as players often perform better in their second season under Guardiola than in the first. Anantaajith Raghuraman Cherki missed no games due to injury this season, playing 44 times for Lyon. He also featured in 67 of their 72 Ligue 1 matches across the 2022-23 and 2023-24 campaigns. He has only suffered one serious injury — a metatarsal (a bone in the foot) fracture in February 2022 that ruled him out for three months. Anantaajith Raghuraman 'Technically, he was an extraordinary player,' Jean Francois Vulliez, a former Lyon academy director and coach told The Athletic in April. 'Everyone knew who he was because he had a way of touching the ball and a way of playing that set him apart as a player. 'He has a deep love of football. He loves the relationship with the ball and he loves one-v-ones. His thing was getting the ball and thinking, 'How can I get past my opponent? How can I get past two opponents, how can I get past three opponents, how can I score a goal?'.' Steve Madeley Cherki has joined City on a five-year contract, ending in June 2030. They have paid Lyon £30.9million (€36.5m/$41.7m) for their youngest-ever competitive goalscorer. A further £5.1m could be due in future add-ons, while Lyon have also secured a sell-on clause that will net them 15 per cent of any profit City make on Cherki in a future transfer. Advertisement The timing of the deal means a mere 1.1 per cent of Cherki's overall fee will go into City's 2024-25 accounts, with the rest spread across five seasons ending with the 2029-30 campaign. Chris Weatherspoon Assuming agent fees of 10 per cent on the transfer, Cherki's signing will add £368,000 in amortisation costs to City's 2024-25 figures. Thereafter, to the end of the 2029-30 season, the fee spent here will be charged at a rate of £6.7million annually in City's books. Cherki's wages are unknown at this stage, but will add a sizeable number on top of the estimated £34million City have spent in transfer and agent fees to bring him to the Etihad Stadium. From Lyon's perspective, their recognition of Cherki's sale is unencumbered by prior dealings. He has been at the club since the age of seven, and French clubs account for agent fees — such as those that might have been incurred when contract extensions were signed — at the time their services are provided, rather than across the length of player contracts (as is the case in, for example, England), so Cherki's book value at his boyhood club is zero. Chris Weatherspoon
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Manchester City seal move for Rayan Cherki in time for Club World Cup
'I have worked so hard for his all my life': Rayan Cherki is unveiled as a Manchester City player. 'I have worked so hard for his all my life': Rayan Cherki is unveiled as a Manchester City player. Photograph: Isaac Parkin/Courtesy of Manchester City Manchester City have completed the signing of Rayan Cherki from Lyon, in time for the attacking midfielder to feature at the upcoming Club World Cup. The 21-year-old, who has made almost 200 appearances for Lyon and earned two France caps, has signed a contract until 2030. City will pay a reported initial fee of €36m (£30.5m) plus add-ons, with the move announced just in time for the 7pm (BST) deadline to register players for Fifa's 32-team club tournament in the United States. Advertisement Related: Men's transfer window summer 2025: all deals from Europe's top five leagues Cherki is the club's third signing in two days as the new director of football, Hugo Viana, begins reshaping Pep Guardiola's squad after a disappointing season. Left-back Rayan Aït-Nouri arrived from Wolves for £31m on Monday, while Marcus Bettinelli will replace the departing Scott Carson as third-choice goalkeeper after joining from Chelsea on Tuesday. 'This is a dream for me,' said Cherki after completing his move. 'To be joining a club like Manchester City and have the opportunity to make the next step in my career here is something very, very special.' 'I have worked so hard for this all my life. I love this sport, and I can't wait to develop further here in Manchester with Pep and his backroom staff,' he added. 'I would only leave Lyon for a project I really believe in and everything at City suggests I can develop my game and help the team be successful in the future.' Advertisement Viana said Cherki, who can play in the middle or as a winger on either flank, is 'a player our scouts have watched for a long time. We have all been impressed with his skill and creativity. I am convinced our fans will be excited to see him play.' Cherki, who has spent his entire career to date with his home town club, posted a tribute to Lyon on Instagram after the transfer was confirmed. 'Thousands of emotions, hundreds of memories and an indelible imprint on my heart,' he wrote. 'I hope to continue making you proud and represent 'Lyon DNA' with dignity.' City are close to completing the signing of the Milan midfielder Tijjani Reijnders after a €55m (£46.3m) fee was agreed last week. The club also announced two coaching arrivals on Tuesday with Pepijn Lijnders, who worked under Jürgen Klopp at Liverpool, appointed assistant coach. James French, an analyst at Anfield for more than a decade, moves to the Etihad as a set-piece coach.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Pep Guardiola to lose three key Man City coaches in major revamp
Pep Guardiola is losing three key members of his Manchester City backroom staff, including assistant manager Juanma Lillo, to leave the Spaniard in pursuit of a coaching team. Lillo, Inigo Dominguez and Carlos Vicens are all leaving City and will not go to the Club World Cup, with Guardiola yet to confirm who will join him in the dugout in the United States. Advertisement Vicens, who has been at City for seven years, is going to take up his first managerial job at Portuguese club Braga, where he will replace the former Sheffield Wednesday head coach Carlos Carvalhal. Lillo, whose contract ends this summer, has spent two spells alongside Guardiola but said he wanted to return to his native Spain, rather than extending his stay in England. The 59-year-old was such a major influence on Guardiola that the Catalan joined Mexican club Dorados Sinaloa to play for him. (Getty Images) And Guardiola brought Lillo to City in 2020. After two years, he left to manage Al Sadd in Qatar before returning to the Etihad Stadium a year later. Dominguez, another Spaniard, has worked with Lillo at Al Sadd and Qingdao Huanghai before joining City. Watch every Fifa Club World Cup game free on DAZN. Sign up here now.
