Although he is still just 21 years old, it seemed that Rayan Cherki had been struggling more than expected to break through at Olympique Lyonnais since debuting at 16 years old in October 2019. However, this season, he has changed his mentality and is achieving historic records, leading to speculation that he could soon make the leap to a top club in Europe.

Cherki equals Özil and Payet in the Europa League

In the comfortable victory for Olympique Lyonnais over FCSB to secure qualification for the Europa League quarter-finals, where they will face Manchester United, Rayan Cherki once again displayed his best tricks and provided two assists before being substituted by Paulo Fonseca at the 65th minute to make way for Malick Fofana.

In total, Rayan Cherki has delivered eight assists in this Europa League… and half of them came in this tie against FCSB. These historic records have allowed him to match Mesut Özil as the youngest player under 21 with the most assists in a Europa League season and Dimitri Payet as the French player with the most assists in the same edition of the Europa League.

Only Salah and Raphinha surpass Cherki

To give an idea of Rayan Cherki’s growth, last season he had his best individual year with Olympique Lyonnais, scoring three goals and providing nine assists. This season, he has already scored eight goals… and has delivered 18 assists! In the top European leagues, only Salah (22) and Raphinha (19) surpass him.

Additionally, Cherki has been especially inspired since February. In fact, Dembélé (14) and Salah (14) are the only players who have produced more than his 13 goals since then. This spectacular form has sparked debate over his exclusion from the France squad. For now, he will have to keep convincing Didier Deschamps.