£67m star is now finished at Man City after Cherki arrival

Manchester City’s spending spree is only just getting started.

On Monday, the Sky Blues unveiled Rayan Aït-Nouri as their first summer signing, arriving for a reported £31m from Wolverhampton Wanderers, with the Algerian international left-back eligible to debut in the Citizens’ Club World Cup opener against Wydad Casablanca in Philadelphia next Wednesday.

Meantime, widespread reports suggest that Tijjani Reijnders will arrive from AC Milan for £46.3m, with more signings on the way too, so could a high-profile Man City stalwart be on his way out, possibly to a Premier League rival, to make way for these new recruits?

What Rayan Cherki will bring to Manchester City

David Ornstein of The Athletic reported last week that Manchester City had ‘reached an agreement’ with Olympique Lyonnais over the signing of Rayan Cherki, agreeing to pay around £34m.

Rob Dawson and Julien Laurens of ESPN claimed that Man City were hoping to finalise the deal in time for Cherki to feature during the Club World Cup group stages, with that move having now been confirmed by the club ahead of the deadline.

In terms of what City’s latest arrival will bring to the Etihad, Stuart James and Tom Williams of the Athletic believe that the 21-year-old possesses a mesmeric ‘capacity to enthral’, labelling him ‘precociously talented’ and citing former Lyon manager Fabio Grosso, who asserted that “god has given him incredible qualities”.

Those traits were notably on show during Lyon’s gripping Europa League quarter-final tie with Manchester United earlier this year, with the youngster scoring a last-gasp equaliser in the first leg, prior to also netting a stunning, driven effort from range in the reverse fixture at Old Trafford.

Described as a “future Ballon d’Or winner” by The Athletic’s Alex Barker, the fleet-footed genius looks destined to be a star under Guardiola’s watch over the coming years.

And so, with such a high-quality midfield talent on his way to the Etihad, could a current Man City star be forced out?

The Man City star destined to depart

As noted by Mark Critchley and Ben Burrows of The Athletic, Jack Grealish has been left out of Manchester City’s squad for this summer’s Club World Cup, thereby not set to travel to the United States, suggesting he is highly likely to leave the club this summer.

Back in December, Richard Jolly of the Independent outlined how, during his four years at the club, Grealish had gone from ‘one of the most exciting attacking players in world football’ to now a player ‘who is neither exciting nor attacking’.

The table below highlights the England international’s decrease in importance.

As the table notes, Grealish was an integral player for Man City during his first two seasons, but the last two he has been nothing more than a peripheral figure.

David O’Brien believes he was “exceptional” during his early years at Man City, but Alex Brotherton of BBC Sport notes that now ‘is the right time to move on’ as he seeks to save his career.

The fact he was an unused substitute in the FA Cup Final, a match they lost 1-0 to Manchester City, is widely considered to be the final nail in the coffin – as too is the arrival of another playmaker in Cherki.

For instance, Cherki racked up 32 goals and assists in all competitions in 2024/25 at Lyon, including 19 goals and assists in league action. Grealish – as noted in the table – was only able to record eight goals and assists, only two of which came in the Premier League. A move away now appears an inevitability.

Indeed, reports in Spain suggest that Newcastle United ‘have set their sights’ on signing him, looking to lodge a bid that would comprise an initial loan deal with an obligation to buy of around £67m.

Ben Jacobs of Talk Sport also claims that both Tottenham and Everton ‘hold a genuine’ interest in signing Grealish too, with Gillian Kasirye of Total Football Analysis documenting how his ‘exceptional ball-carrying ability’ would make him perfect for Spurs.

Thus, Grealish’s Man City exit is likely to be one of the stories of the summer but, regardless of where he ends up, he has surely played his last game in sky blue, with Cherki a readymade, exciting replacement.

Related

Man City now lining up surprise move to sign £35,000-p/w Chelsea goalkeeper

Man City have set their sights on signing a goalkeeper who is way down the pecking order at Stamford Bridge.