In a season where the football on offer would struggle to entertain paint testers, Rayan Cherki has offered a point of difference. A playground footballer who gives off the impression of actually enjoying the game, while the majority of professionals are enduring the methodical nature of desperately practising set pieces. Cherki possesses an armoury of trickery and a desire to use it at every opportunity, even in a stuttering win at Burnley.
A fee of £30.5m was paid for the France international last summer, luring him from Lyon. While Florian Wirtz, a player who cost almost four times as much, struggles to adapt at Liverpool, Cherki’s relaxed attitude has made it a seamless transition from Ligue 1 to Premier League. There is a fearlessness to his play, knowing that if he does lose the ball then it will soon be back at his feet.
