Transfer Centre

Lyon president confirms Manchester United, Real Madrid interest in Rayan Cherki

By Barney Corkhill, Editor | 12 June 2020

Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas reveals that Manchester United and Real Madrid have expressed an interest in signing 16-year-old midfield starlet Rayan Cherki.

Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas has confirmed that Manchester United and Real Madrid are interested in signing 16-year-old starlet Rayan Cherki.

The youngster has enjoyed a breakthrough campaign for the Ligue 1 outfit in 2019-20, making 12 appearances while scoring three goals and creating two more.

A number of Europe's biggest teams are thought to be keeping tabs on the attacking midfielder's progress and, while Aulas revealed the interest of two of those, he insists that Lyon are not planning to sell the starlet any time soon.

"It's clear that he's going to be a player who's going to make it to the top. That's why we made a big effort to get him to sign with us," Aulas told Telefoot.

"The two players interested when the player signed his contract were Real Madrid and Manchester United. We want him to triumph with us, we want to help him, and we want him to grow in a progressive way.

"Our aim is to have a leader in the attack for the next few years, if not a leader from our youth system."

Cherki signed his first professional deal with Lyon earlier this year and is contracted to the club until 2022.