ShareThe French playmaker is more important than ever to Manchester City.By Graham RuthvenThere’s a scene in the recently released documentary ‘A Beautiful Obsession’ that pulls back the curtain on Manchester City’s scouting of Rayan Cherki. The decision makers at the Etihad Stadium club are discussing the Frenchman’s qualities when it is predicted that he could be the long-term successor to Kevin De Bruyne within two seasons.On the basis of City’s first two games of the 2026/27 season, Cherki’s second season in the Premier League, that prediction has aged well. In just 109 minutes of league action, the playmaker has registered two goals and two assists in wins over Bournemouth and Crystal Palace, highlighting just how important he is to Enzo Maresca’s team.Cherki’s player traits compared with positional peers in top five leaguesMaresca has embraced Cherki in a way Pep Guardiola never did. This isn’t to say Guardiola didn’t appreciate Cherki. The former Manchester City manager’s relationship with the playmaker, however, wasn’t exactly frictionless. More than once, Guardiola criticised Cherki not being efficient enough in the final third, accusing him of over-playing.Under Maresca, though, Cherki has been harnessed as Manchester City’s creator-in-chief. The new season might only be two games old, but the 23-year-old is leading the way among his City teammates for shots on target per 90 minutes and chances created. Cherki is performing at the peak of his powers. “First of all, he loves football. So that makes it easier to work with him,” said Maresca when asked about Cherki’s eye-catching start to the season and his role for Manchester City. “Rayan is like this, we know how good he is. We know the quality that he has. In this moment, he is helping the team with the numbers in terms of goals and assists and no doubt he’s going to help more in the future.”Cherki’s match reatings this seasonIt’s been a summer of change at the Etihad Stadium. Guardiola departed to be replaced by Maresca, but this was only the start of the upheaval with Rodri, Bernardo Silva, John Stones, Nathan Ake, Savinho, Omar Marmoush, Nico González, Tijani Reijnders, Manuel Akanji and James Trafford all moved on.Elliot Anderson was signed for a club-record fee to be Manchester City’s new pace-setter at the base of the midfield, only for that record to be broken with the deadline day signing of Enzo Fernández from Chelsea. Ayyoub Bouaddi also joined as part of Maresca’s new-look midfield after catching the eye for Morocco at the 2026 World Cup. The €200m outlay on Anderson and Boyaddi in particular reflects City’s faith in their potential. Anderson and Bouaddi are stars in the making.In Cherki, though, Maresca inherited a player capable of providing the creativity the Italian needs for his approach to work. At Chelsea, Maresca’s style of play verged into tedium because he lacked technicians to convert possession into opportunities. Cole Palmer might have been that player. For one reason or another, he wasn’t.Cherki’s passing stats in the Premier League so farAgainst Bournemouth and Crystal Palace, Maresca set up City with Antoine Semenyo on the left and Phil Foden on the right with Cherki in behind Erling Haaland at the head of the attack. It’s a forward line that allows Cherki to get in between the lines and command the ball in areas of the pitch he can do serious damage.Marc Guéhi played in central midfield against Bournemouth while Nico O’Reilly was pushed into the middle of the pitch for the follow-up meeting with Crystal Palace. Over time, Bouaddi or Fernández will be integrated as the first-choice partner for Anderson and a big part of the role will be giving a platform for Cherki to play his natural game.In the documentary depiction of Manchester City’s assessment of Cherki as a transfer target when he was still at Lyon, the attacking midfielder’s perceived personality problems are mentioned. As a youngster, Cherki has a reputation for being petulant and occasionally allowing frustration to get the better of him.It’s clear Cherki has matured, but he still requires some guidance to fulfil his potential. Maresca has taken the Frenchman under his wing, as demonstrated by the animated interaction between the pair after the opening weekend win over Bournemouth. Just because Guardiola is gone doesn’t mean Cherki isn’t going to be held to a high standard.Maresca’s Manchester City are a work in progress. There have been positives from the back-to-back wins over Bournemouth and Palace, but the flaws have also been there in their performances. City are still working hard to integrate their new signings at the same time as getting the best out of their established superstars. Cherki might be City’s most valuable superstar right now. Haaland is still getting up to speed after the World Cup while Foden still isn’t the player he was three seasons ago when he was Player of the Year in the Premier League. Cherki is growing into his role as the De Bruyne replacement City signed him to be.(Cover image from IMAGO)You can follow every Manchester City game on FotMob – with in-depth stat coverage, including xG, shot maps, and player ratings. Download the free app here.Add FotMob as a preferred news source on Google by clicking – here.The French playmaker is more important than ever to Manchester City.By Graham RuthvenThere’s a scene in the recently released documentary ‘A Beautiful Obsession’ that pulls back the curtain on Manchester City’s scouting of Rayan Cherki. The decision makers at the Etihad Stadium club are discussing the Frenchman’s qualities when it is predicted that he could be the long-term successor to Kevin De Bruyne within two seasons.On the basis of City’s first two games of the 2026/27 season, Cherki’s second season in the Premier League, that prediction has aged well. In just 109 minutes of league action, the playmaker has registered two goals and two assists in wins over Bournemouth and Crystal Palace, highlighting just how important he is to Enzo Maresca’s team.Cherki’s player traits compared with positional peers in top five leaguesMaresca has embraced Cherki in a way Pep Guardiola never did. This isn’t to say Guardiola didn’t appreciate Cherki. The former Manchester City manager’s relationship with the playmaker, however, wasn’t exactly frictionless. More than once, Guardiola criticised Cherki not being efficient enough in the final third, accusing him of over-playing.Under Maresca, though, Cherki has been harnessed as Manchester City’s creator-in-chief. The new season might only be two games old, but the 23-year-old is leading the way among his City teammates for shots on target per 90 minutes and chances created. Cherki is performing at the peak of his powers. “First of all, he loves football. So that makes it easier to work with him,” said Maresca when asked about Cherki’s eye-catching start to the season and his role for Manchester City. “Rayan is like this, we know how good he is. We know the quality that he has. In this moment, he is helping the team with the numbers in terms of goals and assists and no doubt he’s going to help more in the future.”Cherki’s match reatings this seasonIt’s been a summer of change at the Etihad Stadium. Guardiola departed to be replaced by Maresca, but this was only the start of the upheaval with Rodri, Bernardo Silva, John Stones, Nathan Ake, Savinho, Omar Marmoush, Nico González, Tijani Reijnders, Manuel Akanji and James Trafford all moved on.Elliot Anderson was signed for a club-record fee to be Manchester City’s new pace-setter at the base of the midfield, only for that record to be broken with the deadline day signing of Enzo Fernández from Chelsea. Ayyoub Bouaddi also joined as part of Maresca’s new-look midfield after catching the eye for Morocco at the 2026 World Cup. The €200m outlay on Anderson and Boyaddi in particular reflects City’s faith in their potential. Anderson and Bouaddi are stars in the making.In Cherki, though, Maresca inherited a player capable of providing the creativity the Italian needs for his approach to work. At Chelsea, Maresca’s style of play verged into tedium because he lacked technicians to convert possession into opportunities. Cole Palmer might have been that player. For one reason or another, he wasn’t.Cherki’s passing stats in the Premier League so farAgainst Bournemouth and Crystal Palace, Maresca set up City with Antoine Semenyo on the left and Phil Foden on the right with Cherki in behind Erling Haaland at the head of the attack. It’s a forward line that allows Cherki to get in between the lines and command the ball in areas of the pitch he can do serious damage.Marc Guéhi played in central midfield against Bournemouth while Nico O’Reilly was pushed into the middle of the pitch for the follow-up meeting with Crystal Palace. Over time, Bouaddi or Fernández will be integrated as the first-choice partner for Anderson and a big part of the role will be giving a platform for Cherki to play his natural game.In the documentary depiction of Manchester City’s assessment of Cherki as a transfer target when he was still at Lyon, the attacking midfielder’s perceived personality problems are mentioned. As a youngster, Cherki has a reputation for being petulant and occasionally allowing frustration to get the better of him.It’s clear Cherki has matured, but he still requires some guidance to fulfil his potential. Maresca has taken the Frenchman under his wing, as demonstrated by the animated interaction between the pair after the opening weekend win over Bournemouth. Just because Guardiola is gone doesn’t mean Cherki isn’t going to be held to a high standard.Maresca’s Manchester City are a work in progress. There have been positives from the back-to-back wins over Bournemouth and Palace, but the flaws have also been there in their performances. City are still working hard to integrate their new signings at the same time as getting the best out of their established superstars. Cherki might be City’s most valuable superstar right now. Haaland is still getting up to speed after the World Cup while Foden still isn’t the player he was three seasons ago when he was Player of the Year in the Premier League. Cherki is growing into his role as the De Bruyne replacement City signed him to be.(Cover image from IMAGO)You can follow every Manchester City game on FotMob – with in-depth stat coverage, including xG, shot maps, and player ratings. Download the free app here.Add FotMob as a preferred news source on Google by clicking – here.