New signing Rayan Cherki has already impressed Pep Guardiola

Pep Guardiola already seems impressed by the newest weapon in his arsenal. (Image credits - FMT, License Details) 

Newly signed Ryan Cherki has already seemed to have snatched the spotlight at Manchester City as he impresses Pep Guardiola and co. in his first training session with his new club.

The French youngster, who also appeared on the radar of big clubs like Chelsea, Manchester United, and even Liverpool, was signed by Manchester City for a fee close to €36 million just a few weeks ago as a potential replacement for their departing legend Kevin De Bruyne.

The former Lyon sensation arrived in Manchester with a lot of expectations on his back from his new club and its fanbase, which could've easily pressurised him, especially in his initial days.

However, Cherki seems to have settled in as quickly as he surprised everyone in his first training session itself, including Pep Guardiola, who we all know is a difficult man to impress.

How did Cherki impress Pep?

Manchester City have travelled to the USA for the newly formatted FIFA Club World Cup and some of their training session footage has been posted online via their official social media pages.

In one of the training session clips, Rayan Cherki was seen rippling the net after hitting the crossbar with a thunderous shot from his right foot, which made Pep Guardiola seem visibly impressed as he grabbed the 21-year-old and patted him on the back.

Pep Guardiola hugs Rayan Cherki after the latter scored a world-class goal in training. (Image credits - SPORTbible)

As per Manchester Evening News, Cherki opened up his thoughts on his teammates after his first training session with City, stating, “Thank you for it all. I’m ready to play with you because you are the best players, and thank you [to Guardiola].” (sic)

The addition of a talent like Cherki will surely help Manchester City in their attempt to turn things around in the coming season after experiencing major disappointment and struggle in the 2024/25 season.

Not just Cherki, but the signings of Tijjani Reijnders and Ryan Ait-Nouri as well seem like a clear statement by Manchester City and Pep Guardiola that they are ready to reclaim their status of being Europe's most feared team.