Rayan Cherki was just a boy when Jean-Francois Vulliez, the former director of the Academy, asked him about his target. reply? Win the Champions League and Ballon d'Or. Wallis laughed at the memory. "It shows his ambition," he told Sky movement.

Now 21 and moved by Manchester City’s Premier League, he will undoubtedly move to the next step in achieving his goals. There are still many points to prove. But he joined one of Europe's most exciting players.

He made his extraordinary potential on the bench in France in a 5-4 national league win over Spain in the field in Stuttgart on Thursday. His side fell for a few minutes within a few minutes, and Cherky almost triggered a comeback of age.

A stunning goal and assist match his country's first appearance would not help, and the big ambitions for a player seem to grow bigger. Manchester City will be eager to make a deal because the secret is good.

Cherki spent a season with Lyon. He is the most creative player in French football, and he ranked the same rankings in the Europa League last season, and he tortured United with his outrageous deception and touch.

In the sport where even the best can play as a part of the whole, Cherki retains her personal winning streak, a desire to have fun in football. He is a natural performer. For art. Let's hope Pep Guardiola sees it as a super power, too.

"When he was very young, it was incredible," Wallitz recalls. "Every day, every training session, he dribbled on his opponent and wanted to score." It was not a confrontation for Cherki. "More like two people! That's just in his DNA."

Thierry Henry, who coaches Cherki for France's under-21 team, once said he had never seen a player dribble at two feet. Not that he flashed fast, more that he barely strides when moving with the ball under the spell.

"We still don't know if his best foot is his right foot or his left." In fact, he tends to favor the left, but his shooting with his right foot is explosive. "In the case of seven, eight, nine, it's the same." In other words, it's not something he has to do. “He can always play with both.”

This is a precocious talent. In the 16-year-old Lyon first team, he started his 17th birthday seven months, when he scored two points and helped the two beat Nantes. Even Kylian Mbappe has to wait longer to have this effect.

"He advanced early because he was physically mature. And, it was hard for us to find good opposition to help him improve. He played under 17 football at 14. It was too easy for him. We had to find the right level to improve his level."

On one level, he adapted quickly. “He’s not shy,” Wallitz said with a smile. “In the locker room, he found it easy to talk to a player like Alexandre Lacazette even as young boys. He has good communication skills and is very solid in himself and mentally.”

The problem is that fast tracking Cherki presents challenges on the court in this way. "Psychologically, he's not ready for the game," Wallitz admitted. "It all happened so quickly that at the age of 16, he didn't know what professional football was. He was still a kid."

This is part of what makes the Cherki story so interesting - it has an arc. It's easy for the Premier League audience to assume that this is just the next logical step for the 21-year-old French international after a breakthrough year - and that's the fact.

But progress is not linear, and Cherky overcomes criticism of his physique and mentality. There is dipping sauce outside the team, time and all the frustrations that come with it. “He has shown resilience over the years because it’s not easy for him.”

He explained: "There are a lot of people trying to smash him, you know. And, because he is still very young, fans don't understand when they lose goals multiple times in the game. It's just another step in his journey to learn and improve."

Vulliez saw the whole journey and even took charge of the advanced aspects of a Lyon match. On that day, Cherky played for a full 90 minutes. "He always respects it, but he may be emotional. He doesn't understand when he has to go to the bench," he said.

"That's a little hard. But it's because he wants to win every time, he wants to win every time, he wants to score every time. He's an offensive player. But he's hard to make a defensive effort. He thinks everyone has to run for him."

According to people close to Cherki, this is a huge change in his game. On the surface, it was his offensive output that changed last season. Apart from those amazing creative numbers, his target output is more than twice his total in any campaign.

But this is his understanding of the other end of the game, finding a way to contribute without the ball, always being questioned. Cherki's pressing numbers are still not high, but there is a feeling that he has learned how to do enough to help the team.

"That's the biggest step he's taken. Now, he's able to do defensive runs and offensive runs. Before, he just thought that because he's the best talent for the team, they should just give him the ball, he'll score, they'll score.

"Now, he can understand that he has to play for the team and not just himself, so that he can help the team win. It's always the last step, not the technical or intelligence aspect, his understanding of the game, but the defense of the game."

Crucially, this did not hurt his offensive output, but released it. It won him more time and more opportunities to impress him back Cherki was replaced.

As far as his offensive game is concerned, it's mature. "He's always very skilled," Wallis said. "But he's very focused on duels, a confrontation. For him, it's mainly about finding a balance between when to dribble and when to pass." That passing is now a major asset.

Cherky saw something that others didn't have. More importantly, he also has many different ways of performing, whether it's flick or trick, dummy or nutmeg, La Croqueta or Marseille Turn, everything is in the arsenal to buy the space he needs for him.

"It's not only his technical ability, but he's very smart. He's able to pass the ball blindly, read the space, find assists, imbalance the opponent's team. He has a lot of abilities. It's a year when he's able to do it consistently."

Eleven assists. 22 big opportunities have been created. 13 passes are completed. 48 successful dribbling. That's just in Ligue 1. Special numbers. "Special dribble, special pass, special goal," Vulliez added. "He took a big step."

Through all this, this fun remains a part of his appeal. After all, this is a player who once lamented the lack of artists in the game and almost saw himself as a single-player antidote. "He even invented some of his own technical moves," Vulliez said.

But now there is a serious implication for Cherky, which is the clarity needed for his career. He is hiring a personal trainer to help himself do his best – physically, mentally and tactically. He showed his qualities in Lyon. He looks ready to do it for the city.

"It's a very good challenge for him. Yes, it's a big step for the Premier League, but I think he can do that because he can still improve his space. Neurological stimulation needs to be stimulated and can continue to improve until he's 24 or 25."

One of the biggest problems with Premier League champions before last season was their predictability in offense. Cherki is different. He can unlock defense capabilities. "When Guardiola hired a player, he knew in advance how he used them," Vulliez said.

Cherki can play a role, especially from the right, but his long-term preference is to take on the 10th role. “He can play in different positions and now I think he can understand what the coach wants and how to adapt to the coach’s plan.”

That would be a test. Will this maverick be included in the city's system or just strangled by it. Hopefully discovering Rayan Cherki full stream is still fun, it is still fun, only his own imagination can limit it.

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