French Football Academies have surfaced as the most prosperous in world football recently. A lot of the new talents and prospect stars are from different parts of France. Many are key transfer targets for Real Madrid. The likes of Kylian Mbappe and Eduardo Camavinga are popular examples.
However, there is another young attacking midfielder who has already been compared to the likes of Lionel Messi and Karim Benzema. Besides, even Kylian Mbappe took to Twitter to express his appreciation for this young man. He is none other than Lyon’s Rayan Cherki. Cherki is someone, who has already expressed his desire to join the Royal White club in the future, and in my opinion, Real Madrid would be lucky to have him. Here is everything you need to know about the youngster, divided into three convenient segments.
1. Rayan Cherki’s football beginnings
Rayan Cherki was born on August 17, 2003, to parents who were of Algerian and Italian descent. He started playing football formally in 2009 when he was just six years old. His brothers were always into football and the sport came naturally to the boy. He joined Saint-Priest and in the very next year was recruited by Lyon for their Youth Academy. His time there made him one of their best prospects currently.
Cherki moved quickly within the ranks. He played for the U17 side as a 15-year-old and soon transitioned to the U19 side in the Coupe Gambardella. He also had a brilliant campaign with Lyon’s team for the UEFA Youth League. His impressive performances landed him with contract extensions. He quickly proved himself enough to be given the first-team action at just 16 years of age.
He made his senior debut for Lyon on November 27, 2019, in a Champions League game against Zenit. He appeared as a second-half substitute for Maxwell Cornet in a 0-2 loss in the St. Petersburg Stadium. His first goal for the senior team came in January 2004, in a Coupe de France game against Bourg-Peronnas. With that strike, he became Lyon’s youngest ever goalscorer for the senior team.
2. Rayan Cherki has a mature and versatile playing style for his age
Rayan Cherki is an attacker that is what Lyon refers to him as. His profile may list him as an attacking midfielder but he is capable of filling in any missing piece in the attack. He can operate on the flanks, upfront as a striking option, or even play behind the Centre-Forward as a creative influence or almost as a False-9. However, he is indeed most effective as an attacking midfielder.
Lyon has one of the best academies in France. And, Rayan Cherki’s range of abilities only further substantiates their attention to detail in player development. He has lightning-fast quick feet and some sickest dribbling abilities. He is a play-maker with a high footballing IQ which makes him sense opportunities well. He has great vision coupled with handy passing abilities, everything adding up for a great eye for goal.
Cherki has already drawn comparisons with academy graduates like Hatem Ben Arfa and even Real Madrid superstar Karim Benzema. The only weak link in his play is his defensive game. He does a decent job chipping in as an attacking midfielder but there is a lot of scope for development with his physicality and height still growing to their maximum potential. His breakout season was the 2019/20 season where he made 27 appearances in Ligue 1 which included 5 starts. He led the way with 0.52 goal contributions per 90 minutes, per FBref.
3. Rayan Cherki is a UEFA Youth League standout
Rayan Cherki has played his best football in UEFA’s Youth League. It is no surprise that the most amount of hype created around his name is from the performances in this competition. The UEFA Youth League is the equivalent of the Champions League for the U17 sides. The best youth sides from around Europe lock horns for the highest possible glory in the division. And, Cherki shining at such a stage is great news for Real Madrid.
Cherki started playing as a 15-year-old in the Youth League. In a famous 4-1 victory against Manchester City, Cherki scored a goal that made him the youngest goalscorer of the Youth League then. The best part was Cherki scored within four minutes of entering the pitch in a crucial game. He, however, doesn’t hold the said record with Borussia Dortmund‘s wunderkind Youssoufa Moukoko dethroning him.
Cherki continued his fine form into next season’s Youth League too. He found the net four times before the COVID-19 pandemic sent football to an unprecedented halt. Cherki scored in the opener against Zenit and went on to score one and create one against RB Leipzig. He then went on to score a brace against Benfica, arguably one of the best youth sides before adding another to his tally against Bergamo.
He holds another unique record regarding UEFA competitions. He is the youngest player to play in the semi-finals of the Champions League. Also, he has had a few highlights in his career so far including a 4-goal contribution outing against Nantes, a performance that attracted reaction from Kylian Mbappe. The trajectory free kick in a game against FC Metz on January 19, 2019, as well as his hat-trick in five minutes against AJ Auxerre, are two such highlights.