‘He needs to show consistency’ – Thierry Henry challenges Rayan Cherki to make the next step

Rayan Cherki (20) was initially omitted from Thierry Henry’s France U23 squad, however, he got a reprieve after Leeds United’s Georginio Rutter and Montpellier HSC’s Joris Chotard withdrew through injury. Henry has now challenged the Olympique Lyonnais forward to make the next step. 

Amidst a significant downturn in form this season, but also questions surrounding his future at Lyon beyond the end of the season, Cherki has found game time limited. It was therefore logical that, despite his clear talent, Cherki was left out of Henry’s Les Bleuets’ side. 

However, following what was nonetheless a surprise omission, Cherki made a spectacular appearance off the bench against Toulouse FC, netting in a 3-2 victory. That was his first goal in Ligue 1 this season. Post-match, his manager said that Cherki “needed to be angry” in order to show the reaction that he showed. 

“He should have been annoyed for the last three months, shouldn’t he?” joked Henry when he explained his selection choices in a press conference on Monday. He continued, “He has woken up. That’s good. Not seeing his name on the list should have annoyed him. He needs to show consistency because there is a huge difference between sometimes showing character and showing character all the time. I’m not talking about his quality, because I have never seen a player in history who dribbles as quickly as him, with both feet. But he made a thunderous debut, very young and to not be starting matches today, that means what it means.”

He concluded,” We all like watching Cherki play, but he has to perform well. He loves football and he knows what he has to do to return to the foreground.”

GFFN | Luke Entwistle