Rayan Cherki seems confident that he will join Manchester City, despite having transfer discussions with Liverpool earlier this month. The 21-year-old met with Liverpool’s manager Arne Slot when the club pursued a meeting arranged before they increased their interest in Florian Wirtz. Liverpool have only made a formal offer for Wirtz, viewing Cherki as one of several backup options if the Bayer Leverkusen player wasn’t interested.
While no transfer fee has been agreed upon with the German club, all parties remain optimistic that a deal will be completed this summer. Manchester City are now considered favorites to sign Cherki from Lyon, after stepping back from pursuing Wirtz.
However, Pep Guardiola’s team has reportedly had their first offer for Cherki turned down by Lyon.
Cherki made a strong impression during his senior international debut on Thursday, scoring and assisting after coming off the bench as France lost 5-4 to Spain in the Nations League semi-finals. Before the game, he confirmed his intention to leave Lyon and hinted that his transfer is close to completion.
“Yes… it’s getting done,” Cherki told reporters. “But you already know my answer, everyone does. There’s still a game to play. Now we just have to wait. We need to win this match (Nations League third-place play-off against Germany) and after that, it’ll be done. We’ll see.”
Manchester City have until 7 pm on Tuesday, June 10 to finalize the deal if they want to include Cherki in their squad for the group stages of this summer’s FIFA Club World Cup.
Liverpool currently aren’t expected to make a bid for Cherki, as they continue negotiations with Bayer Leverkusen over what would be a club-record deal for Wirtz
