Lyon star Rayan Cherki is wanted by Manchester United, with the France U21 playmaker set to be a major protagonist in the summer transfer window.
Hopes were high in the Premier League, where Manchester City and Arsenal are also interested, that Cherki would be available at a bargain-basement price. After all, he has just a year left to run on his contract at Lyon, whose financial problems had plunged the club into crisis.
On Friday, Lyon announced that they have signed a new €100 million deal with sponsors Emirates, which has extended its sponsorship of the team until the summer of 2030.
Rayan Cherki just got a whole lot more expensive
A matter of weeks ago, it seemed that Lyon could be held to ransom over the sale of Cherki, who has an Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) of €37.5m.
There were rumours that Man Utd could take advantage of OL’s position to land the in-form creative star for around €20-25m – well below his true worth.
While Cherki is still very much up for sale and remains destined to move to a new club in the summer, Lyon’s increasing financial strength means that the Ligue 1 side is in a better side to negotiate a transfer fee.
And it’s not just the new agreement with Emirates that has boosted OL’s coffers in recent times. It was confirmed earlier this week that they will land around €15m as Said Benrahma’s loan deal to Neom will be made permanent after the club’s promotion to the Saudi Pro League.
Man Utd’s need to sign Cherki, meanwhile, has dropped due to an agreement being close with Wolves attacker Matheus Cunha.
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