Cherki

Jack Grealish might replace Florian Wirtz at Bayer Leverkusen, Sporting U-turn angers Viktor Gyokeres, Manchester City agree Rayan Cherki fee.

Manchester City’s England winger Jack Grealish, 29, is being lined up as a potential replacement for 22-year-old Germany midfielder Florian Wirtz if he leaves Bayer Leverkusen. (Sun), external

Sweden striker Viktor Gyokeres is furious that his club Sporting have gone back on a gentleman’s agreement that the 27-year-old could leave this summer for £67m. (Record – in Portuguese), external

Manchester City have agreed a £34m deal with Lyon for 21-year-old France midfielder Rayan Cherki. (Times – subscription required), external

Arsenal are keen to sign Chelsea’s Spain goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga, 30, for just £5m. (Sky Sports), external

Burnley have valued their French centre-back Maxime Esteve, 23, at £50m amid interest from Bayern Munich, who are managed by the ex-Clarets boss Vincent Kompany. (Football Insider), external

Paris St-Germain’s 22-year-old France winger Bradley Barcola is Bayern’s top target for a new singing on the wing this summer, with Atletico Madrid’s Spain winger Nico Williams, also 22, their top alternative. (Sky Sport Germany – in German), external

PSG want Bournemouth’s Ilya Zabarni but the Cherries are demanding £59m for the 22-year-old Ukraine centre-back. (L’Equipe – in French), external

Tottenham have stepped up their interest in Bournemouth’s Antoine Semenyo, while Manchester United also remain admirers of the Ghana forward, 25. (Sky Sports), external

Newcastle United are keen on signing Ghana winger Mohammed Kudus, 24, from West Ham after missing out on Brentford’s Bryan Mbeumo. (Football Insider), external

West Ham are considering a swap deal with Chelsea involving Kudu, while the Hammers are prepared to let Morocco centre-back Nayef Aguerd leave this summer for £25m. (Teamtalk), external

Manchester City are ready to make a move for Chelsea’s English goalkeeper Marcus Bettinelli, 33, following the departure of Scott Carson. (Telegraph – subscription required), external

Tottenham are one of the latest clubs to show an interest in Red Bull Salzburg’s Mali winger Dorgeles Nene, 22. (Teamtalk), external

Cherki is only the latest talent fresh off the Lyon production line, but may be the best yet.

He joined Lyon at the age of seven from AS Saint-Priest and, aged 16 years and 140 days, Cherki became the youngest goalscorer in the Ligue 1 side’s history in a French Cup tie back in January 2020.

Before that in November 2019, a Champions League debut came against Zenit, while he also helped France reach the quarter-finals of the European Under-21 Championships in 2023.

Previously linked with Real Madrid, Liverpool, Manchester United and Chelsea, in 2020 he admitted to Lyon TV “my dream is to play for Real Madrid”.

His footballing idol is Cristiano Ronaldo, can play as a winger but his preference is a more central number 10 role.

Cherki has just enjoyed a break-out campaign in Ligue 1, providing 11 assists, 22 big chances – the most in the league – 13 through-balls and 48 successful dribbles.

A return of 12 goals in all competitions is by far the best of his short career, but it is his work and understanding of the game off the ball that has arguably improved the most this term.

French football expert Julien Laurens, speaking on the Euro Leagues podcast, said: “He has been incredible this season. Since he was 16 – even before that – the talent is there, left foot or right foot.

“A player at this level who takes corners with each foot depending on which side of the corner it is, to be an inswinger every time is just incredible.

“He is one of the greatest technicians in Europe right now.”

The stats support Cherki’s ambipedal qualities. Of the 44 shots he took with his feet in Ligue 1 last season, 22 came with the left and 22 with the right.

Cherki’s growing reputation was only enhanced by Thursday’s stunning international debut on Thursday against Spain, where he sparked France’s comeback from 5-1 down.

Three days later he made his full international debut as Les Bleus beat Germany 2-0 in the Nations League third-place play-off.

Laurens certainly isn’t Cherki’s only admirer.

France legend Thierry Henry has previously said he has “never seen a player in history who dribbles as quickly as him”, while Lyon’s captain Alexandre Lacazette described him as “special”.

The former Arsenal striker added: “This season, he has managed to raise his level. I would put [Mesut] Ozil in a different category but, with time, Rayan can get close to him.”

Cherki, also part of the France squad that finished runners-up at the 2024 Olympics, scored in both legs for Lyon against Manchester United in a Europa League quarter-final defeat last season.

Speaking to BBC Sport in April about him, Lyon’s former Arsenal player Ainsley Maitland-Niles said: “He is the best natural talent I’ve ever seen. An absolute master, a wizard with the ball.

“He is taking chances, assists and dragging us up the pitch by taking people on and nutmegging them – he is a genius.”

Newcastle move for Nottingham Forest winger Anthony Elanga, Arsenal pursue Benjamin Sesko and Manchester United make improved offer for Bryan Mbeumo.

Newcastle United have made a move to try to sign 23-year-old Sweden winger Anthony Elanga from Nottingham Forest. (Mail), external

Arsenal have formally approached RB Leipzig to sign 22-year-old Slovenia striker Benjamin Sesko, although no bid has yet been lodged. (Sky Sports), external

Manchester United have made an offer worth £60m for Brentford and Cameroon winger Bryan Mbeumo, 25, after they had a first bid totalling £55m rejected. (ESPN), external

Inter Milan have made informal inquiries about signing £40m-rated Manchester United and Denmark forward Rasmus Hojlund, 22. (Telegraph – subscription required), external

Lyon have rejected Manchester City’s first offer for 21-year-old France attacking midfielder Rayan Cherki as negotiations between the two clubs continue. (Florian Plettenberg), external

Tottenham will have to pay in excess of £10m if they want to bring in Brentford boss Thomas Frank to replace Ange Postecoglou, who has been sacked by Spurs. (Mirror), external

Serie A champions Napoli are weighing up a move for 25-year-old England defender Trevoh Chalobah, who helped Chelsea qualify for the Champions League and win the Uefa Conference League after returning from a loan spell at Crystal Palace in January. (Telegraph – subscription required), external

Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and AC Milan are keen on Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, 26, if he fails to agree a new deal at Paris St-Germain, while Inter Milan and Juventus may wait for his contract to expire in 2026, before making a move. (Gazzetta dello Sport – in Italian), external

Arsenal are among the clubs keen on 30-year-old Spain goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga, who has a £5m release clause in his Chelsea contract. (Evening Standard), external

England midfielder Angel Gomes, who is set to leave Lille at the end of his contract this summer, has an agreement in principle to join Marseille, who have beaten Tottenham and West Ham to land the 24-year-old. (RMC Sport – in French), external

Marseille have made a contract offer to 29-year-old West Ham and Morocco defender Nayef Aguerd. (Foot Mercato – in French), external

Newcastle are growing frustrated at being quoted inflated transfer fees with Eintracht Frankfurt’s £80m asking price for Hugo Ekitike putting the Magpies off a move for the 22-year-old French forward. (Telegraph – subscription required), external

Crystal Palace have explored an ambitious deal for Sporting and Ivory Coast defender Ousmane Diomande, who would cost about £45m. (Telegraph – subscription required), external

Sunderland have rejected an offer from Borussia Dortmund for English midfielder Jobe Bellingham, but the clubs remain in talks about a deal for the 19-year-old. (Sky Sports Germany), external

AC Milan have shown interest in Bayer Leverkusen’s Swiss midfielder Granit Xhaka, 32, while the Bundesliga club appear keen on bringing in Germany defender Malick Thiaw, 23, from the Serie A club. (Kicker – in German), external

Manchester United have made a move for Brentford’s Bryan Mbeumo, while Cristiano Ronaldo could be heading to Brazil and Aston Villa are keen on Ferran Torres.

Manchester United have made an offer of 65m euros (£54m) for Brentford’s Cameroon striker Bryan Mbeumo, 25, who has a year left on his current contract. (Fichajes – in Spanish), external

Al-Nassr striker Cristiano Ronaldo, 40, has received an offer from an unnamed Brazilian club, which would allow the Portugal star to play in the Fifa Club World Cup which starts in June. (Marca – in Spanish) , external

Aston Villa are interested in Barcelona forward Ferran Torres, 25, and prepared to offer around 50m euros (£42m) for the Spain international. (Mundo Deportivo – in Spanish), external

English manager Will Still, 32, is in talks to become Southampton boss after leaving French club Lens. (Independent), external

Lyon’s 21-year-old French winger Rayan Cherki, a target for Manchester United and Liverpool, has confirmed he will leave the French side his summer. (Goal), external

Manchester United are also keen on Sporting and Portugal midfielder Pedro Goncalves, 26, this summer. (Teamtalk), external

Atletico Madrid are among several clubs interested in Aston Villa’s Argentine midfielder Enzo Barrenechea, 23, who is on loan at Valencia. (Birmingham Mail), external

Bayern Munich have not lost hope of keeping former Manchester City winger Leroy Sane at the club, with the 29-year-old Germany international out of contract next month. (Bild – in German), external

Nottingham Forest are keen to tie down England pair, midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White, 25, and winger Callum Hudson-Odoi, 24, to new contracts as soon as possible. (Football Insider), external

Napoli need a new centre-forward for next season and are plotting a move for either Lille’s out-of-contract Canada striker Jonathan David, 25, or Liverpool’s Uruguay forward Darwin Nunez, 25. (Calciomercato – in Italian), external