Ibrahima Konate makes Rayan Cherki admission after Manchester City’s Florian Wirtz failure

Liverpool and France defender Ibrahima Konate has heaped praise upon Manchester City star Rayan Cherki following his eye-catching run of performances of late.

Cherki joined Manchester City for £34 million from Lyon in June as director of football Hugo Viana sought to mitigate the notable departure of Kevin De Bruyne with the acquisition of one of Europe’s most sought-after and highly-rated attacking midfielders.

After making a strong impression for Manchester City at the FIFA Club World Cup in the United States in June, Cherki marked his Premier League debut with a well-taken goal from outside the box in a 4-0 win away at Wolves.

However, the 22-year-old’s quick ascent at the Etihad Stadium was halted by an injury sustained in the days leading to Manchester City’s 2-1 loss to Brighton at the end of August, keeping Cherki on the sidelines till mid-October.

Manchester City have since witnessed glimpses of what the former Lyon man has to offer as they embark on life without De Bruyne and look to challenge for major trophies in the backdrop of a sub-standard 2024-25 campaign.

Cherki has forged a strong attacking partnership with Manchester City talisman Erling Haaland in attack and supplied the Norway international twice in the first-half of a 3-1 triumph over Bournemouth at the start of November.

City won a tightly-contested race to get their hands on Cherki, who earned a well-deserved transfer to the Etihad Stadium after enjoying a breakthrough 2024-25 season in Ligue 1. The Frenchman has recently established himself as a regular starter under Pep Guardiola, who has been impressed with what he’s seen from Cherki since his arrival.

The Blues rose to second place in the Premier League table before the international break and while Cherki was far from his best in a 3-0 thumping of Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium, one of his international teammates seem to think the ceiling is sky high for the former Lyon man.

Speaking to Le Parisien over the weekend, Liverpool and France defender Ibrahima Konate extolled the virtues of Cherki. “I have to choose my words carefully. I don’t see any difference between Cherki at Manchester City and with Les Bleus (France National Team),” Konate said, as quoted by Sport Witness .

“He (Cherki) is very flamboyant, old-school, likes to entertain. He’s two-footed. He’s going to take a big step forward in many areas.

“It depends on him, his work, what he delivers. He can achieve great things in football with all his qualities – but it all depends on him.”

Guardiola would agree with Konate’s remarks as there is little doubt that Cherki possesses all the ingredients to be a success at the Etihad Stadium but it will be his desire and work-ethic that make or break his Manchester City career.