Chelsea receive fresh Rayan Cherki message

Cameron Smith

• 6 Apr 2026 14:01 BST
• 5 min read

News

Antoine Semenyo has described his Manchester City team-mate Rayan Cherki as “one of the world’s best” following his performance against Liverpool on Saturday afternoon.

The France international played a key role as Pep Guardiola’s side booked their place in the FA Cup semi-finals with a 4-0 demolition of Liverpool, and Semenyo was keen to praise the 22-year-old after the match.

Current ETV

Rayan Cherki

AM (C), M (CR)

Man City

Rayan Cherki

AM (C), M (CR)

Man City

€63.9M

ETV Range

€57.5M - €70.3M

View full profile

Cherki initially struggled to break into Guardiola’s preferred starting XI during the opening few months of the season, following his arrival from Olympique Lyon for a fee of €36.5 million, but he is now one of the first names on the teamsheet thanks to an immense spell of form.

The Frenchman has now scored 10 goals and provided 12 assists since joining Man City last June, and he has been one of the Premier League’s standout performers in 2026.

Speaking after the win over Liverpool, Semenyo told reporters: “He’s [Cherki] one of the world’s best. He can literally do anything with the ball, so he makes my life easy.

“I know that he’s going to drop and he’s going to try and find me in behind or play to my feet, so it just makes it easier.”

The Ghana forward added: “I remember my first day in training. Just some of the skills he was pulling up, I thought, ‘What kind of player is he?’ He’s a top player. Creative with the ball and we love it.”

Chelsea rue Rayan Cherki error

Cherki was linked with numerous Premier League clubs during his time at Lyon, but Man City were the only team willing to take a gamble on the 22-year-old, who was available for a bargain price of €36.5m due to the fact his contract was set to expire in 2026.

Man Utd were also interested in signing Cherki following his excellent final campaign at Lyon, but they were beaten to the punch by Man City, who signed him following the departure of Kevin De Bruyne to Napoli.

Chelsea were heavily linked with Cherki before his eventual move to Man City too, with the Blues close to finalising a deal back in 2023. It’s understood that Cherki was keen to join the Stamford Bridge outfit, but reports speculated that the Blues pulled out of negotiations due to fears over his attitude.

Rumours of a move to west London persisted in 2024 and 2025, however a deal was never agreed and Chelsea will undoubtedly rue that error, despite the fact that Cherki plays in Cole Palmer’s preferred No.10 position.

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