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Ibrahima Konate has said Manchester City’s Rayan Cherki can succeed in the Premier League if he applies himself correctly.
The winger joined City from Lyon in the summer and has already shown glimpses of his undoubted talent. Cherki scored and provided an assist from four appearances at last summer’s Club World Cup, while he netted on his Premier League debut against Wolverhampton Wanderers in August.
But a thigh injury suffered the following week impeded his start to life in England. After returning, Cherki has again demonstrated signs of his talent. He set up two goals in the win over Bournemouth at the start of the month and then started in last week's 3-0 victory over Liverpool.
The 22-year-old reportedly met with Liverpool before joining City, and could have lined up alongside Konate at club level had things gone differently over the summer.
But the Liverpool star was cautious when asked about for his verdict on Cherki in Thursday’s press conference. Whether that was due to the Reds’ interest, his role for a rival, his attitude, or even his penchant for operating as a maverick midfielder is unclear.
“I have to choose my words carefully on this subject,” said Konate, speaking ahead of France’s World Cup qualifier against Azerbaijan on Sunday.
“I don’t see any difference between Cherki at City and with Les Bleus. He’s very flamboyant, old-school. He likes to entertain the people who watch him.
“He’s two-footed. He’s going to take a big step forward in many areas. It depends on him, on his work, on what he delivers.
“He can achieve great things in the world of football with all his qualities. But it all depends on him.”
Cherki played 68 minutes for France in Thursday’s win over Ukraine and is expected to feature again in Baku on Sunday.
Before that dead rubber, head coach Didier Deschamps also reiterated Konate’s view that the City winger needs to continue improving.
“A difference between Cherki at City and Cherki with the French national team? Rayan is Rayan. You say he's refined his game in Manchester? He's adapting there to a role that's different from the one he had on Thursday,” said the World Cup winner.
“He has above-average technical ability. There are things to improve compared to what he did on Thursday.
“He also depends on the team. His positioning was a bit too deep in that match. There's a lot of competition at Manchester, his playing time is limited. He played that hour. He'll be focused on tomorrow's match. He'll need time too, like everyone else.”
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