Manchester United, Newcastle United 'keeping tabs on Lyon's Rayan Cherki'

The 20-year-old has long been regarded as a future Ballon d'Or contender since breaking into the Gones first team at the age of just 16 in 2020.

Cherki has already made 112 appearances for Lyon, scoring 14 goals and setting up 17 more, including four goals and six assists from 34 Ligue 1 contests in the 2022-23 campaign.

The playmaker also boasts a staggering 11 goals and six assists from 18 appearances for France's Under-21s, but he has disappointed in the early portion of the 2023-24 season with Lyon, who remain without a win 11 games into the new campaign.

Cherki registered his first goal contribution of the season on Sunday, coming off the bench to set up Skelly Alvero's equaliser in a 1-1 draw with Metz after being left out of the squad for their postponed clash with Marseille.

Newly-appointed Lyon boss Fabio Grosso had previously told the media that Cherki was not a «special player» when asked about the youngster's game time, saying: «I was aware of Rayan Cherki before his performance in the Espoirs match. He possesses extraordinary potential, and everyone hopes he can translate that potential into consistent performance.

»Is he a special player? He's a player; he's not a special player. He's a player like any other, albeit with some additional qualities. But it's not just technical qualities that matter; there are mental and athletic qualities as well. He possesses enormous technical abilities, but he needs to work on the others.

«His destiny is in his hands. He has been blessed with incredible qualities, but he can improve. As we've said before, he is one of those players who needs to