What you should know about Cherki

The 19 year old French playmaker is in high demand this summer. What can fans expect if their club manage to convince Lyon to sell?

By Lars Sivertsen, Football Expert for Betsson

Rayan Cherki made his debut for Lyon in 2019 when he was still just 16 years old, and he was quickly flagged by just about everyone as a player to watch. Lyon’s academy, after all, is well known for being one of the most consistent talent factories around. The year before Cherki’s debut the CIES Football Observatory released a study where they had found that out of the clubs in the top five European leagues only Real Madrid and Barcelona had more academy graduates than Lyon playing in those top five leagues. So when a young player starts making a name for himself at Lyon it’s worth paying attention. They usually turn out pretty good.

But Rayan Cherki has taken his time. Which seems like an absurd thing to say about a guy who is still 19, but it’s not entirely unfair. He showed enough flashes of brilliance early on that his big breakthrough was expected any minute, it just never quite came. In the 2020/2021 season he got five starts and 22 appearances off the bench, and the next season he got three starts and 13 off the bench. A metatarsal fracture in 2022 didn’t help. But this season he has really started to blossom.

Tor-Kristian Karlsen an experienced scout and executive who has worked for several European clubs, explains: “I would have expected maybe even greater progress. A year ago I thought he might become a late shout for the World Cup squad. But I think something has clicked this season. In terms of dribbling, in terms of ball-carrying, in terms of combination play, he’s absolutely one of the top players with his technical ability. And it’s fun to watch him. He makes a fool out of defenders, he’s an artist. I think Laurent Blanc has cracked the code a little bit, he’s worked out that if he plays him centrally then you mitigate the defensive weaknesses. He’s obviously not the most diligent in his defensive work. And I think if he plays in a kind of free role behind the striker, he’s more protected. But that’s still a part of his game that he needs to work on, the pressing, the transitional play when they lose the ball, to get back into position. He can drift in and out of games, like most mercurial talents. But in the last three or four months I think he’s come on nicely. I’m still backing him”, Karlsen told The Lars Resort podcast in April. “He’s technically brilliant, some times he overdoes it a bit, he likes to go and beat the extra man rather than laying it off. But it’s all part of your development and the maturing process”.

This all sounds very exciting. For sure, Rayan Cherki is one of those players whose highlight compilations make for a magnificent watch. But is there substance to go with all that style? His attacking return for Lyon this season, four goals and six assists in 21 starts and 13 games off the bench, is hardly spectacular. But some of his underlying numbers are worth noting. According to data from the Fbref webiste, Cherki really stands out among attacking midfielders and wingers in a number of categories.

For one thing, in the last 365 days he has completed more take-ons per 90 minutes on the pitch than 99% of players in his position in the top five European leagues. Unsurprisingly he has completed more “progressive carries” than 98% of his peers, and his willingness to get into attacking positions stand out with him making more touches in the box than 96% of his peers. So he is a technical genius who likes to get forward. That’s fun. But wait, there is one more very significant stat to look at: Progressive passes. By which Fbref mean “passes that move the ball toward the opponent’s goal line at least 10 yards from it’s furthest point in the last six passes, or any completed pass into the penalty area. Excluding passes from the defending 40% of the pitch”. An important metric for a creative player. And on this front Rayan Cherki’s numbers are also impressive: He completed more progressive passes per 90 minutes on the pitch for Lyon last season than 95% of wingers and attacking midfielders in the top five European leagues. And it’s worth adding to all of this that Lyon did not have a particularly good season.

So Rayan Cherki is a mercurial technician who can go past players at will, and also excels at playing forward passes. He has defensive shortcomings. His defensive numbers are almost not worth getting into. Short version: Very bad. And according to Karlsen he can be inconsistent and is prone to over-elaborating. But still, an undeniably fun, aesthetically pleasing player who with some good coaching and added maturity could be a genuine superstar. One to look out for, wherever he ends up.

Listen to The Lars Resort podcast here: https://soundcloud.com/user-721285592