Rayan Cherki: Lyon's academy shines again
One To Watch
Olympique Lyonnais have a long tradition of being one of the top clubs for producing young players in France. From Karim Benzema and Hatem Ben Arfa, to the revenant duo of Alexandre Lacazette and Corentin Tolisso, to more recent stars like Bradley Barcola and Malo Gusto, the Rhône side's vaunted academy has been a reliable producer of top-tier talent.
Save Lacazette, Tolisso and midfielder Maxence Caqueret, manager Pierre Sage has been loath to use the club's wellspring of prospects, though with young players regularly being brought in. Malick Fofana has had a bright start to the season, and Ernest Nuamah and Gift Orban have also impressed, but Rayan Cherki, recently signed to a contract extension, looks ready to usurp the coach's hierarchy given his recent strong run of play.
Cherki is unplayable 🥵👑 @rayan_cherki @OL pic.twitter.com/5ynQ9qpC0A
— Ligue 1 English (@Ligue1_ENG) October 7, 2024
A search for consistency
Cherki first caught the attention of French football fans with a near-legendary display against FC Nantes in the Coupe de France in January of 2020. Still just 16, he scored two and set up the other two in a 4-3 win, doing so not against an amateur minnow, but against another top-flight side. Despite being able to play on both flanks as well as through the middle, he would struggle for playing time in the following seasons.
With Lyon in the mix for the Ligue 1 McDonald's title for much of the 2020-21 season, but with Lucas Paquetá, Houssem Aouar and Memphis Depay ahead of him in the pecking order, he started just a handful of times in the league, scoring once. In the subsequent campaign, a broken foot hindered his progress even further, with the emergence of Barcola scarcely helping.
What a match by Cherki! ⭐️🤩
👟 63 ball touches
🔝 1 big chance created
🪄 4 dribbles
🔥 3 key passes
⚽️ 2 shots
😍 3 long passes pic.twitter.com/I61xxvud7c— Ligue 1 English (@Ligue1_ENG) October 6, 2024
Turning a corner
2022-23 saw him feature more regularly, and have ten goal contributions, but last season seemed like a step back. Despite the departure of Barcola, the club bringing in the likes of Fofana, Nuamah and Saïd Benrahma meant that competition for places was fierce, and especially under Sage, Cherki played regularly, but often from the bench, leading to rumblings that he might be off this summer.
In the current campaign, a dispute over his contract saw him miss the team's first four matches, being excluded from the squad, but he made an instant impact in his first appearance, scoring a vital goal against Marseille just after renewing his contract. After a pair of assists in the Europa League against Rangers, he has two goals and two assists in five appearances, and was all but unplayable in a win over FC Nantes on Sunday.
Speaking after the win over Rangers last week, Cherki emphasized his recent run of form has been the product of application and consistency, saying, "I'm trying to bring creativity to the team. In football there are ups and downs. I worked a lot at the beginning of the season. My goal is to be consistent over time.” It looks like, at long last, that consistency has found the young attacker, and he looks at last well-positioned to follow in the footsteps of previous academy graduates in becoming a key part of an up-and-coming Lyon side.
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