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Ibrahima Konate has tipped his international teammate and Manchester City attacker Rayan Cherki to enjoy a successful career.
Rayan Cherki has received a ringing endorsement from his international teammate Ibrahima Konate, despite the two players now being Premier League rivals at Manchester City and Liverpool.
Cherki and Konate faced off at the Etihad before the international break, with City winning 3-0, and although it wasn't Cherki's best afternoon, the 22-year-old has been in supreme form of late.
He has four goals and four assists for the Blues since his £34million move from Lyon and after an injury derailed his start to life in the Premier League, he has hit top gear in recent weeks.
Cherki created two goals for Erling Haaland in the Premier League win against Bournemouth, scored and assisted in the Carabao Cup success against Swansea and found the back of the net again in the Champions League rout against Borussia Dortmund.
Konate has seen Cherki's ability at close quarters recently, with the former Lyon making an eye-catching international debut in June. He is now a firm part of Didier Deschamps' squad as France look forward to the World Cup and Konate is in no doubt about the levels that Cherki can reach.
“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.
“He 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."
Cherki started France's 4-0 win against Ukraine on Thursday that secured World Cup qualification. Deschamps rang the changes in Azerbaijan on Saturday but the City man came on for the final 28 minutes of a 3-1 win.
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