Man City to send player on loan to Lyon following €40m Rayan Cherki deal with French side to pick between two rising stars

City are set to complete the transfer of Cherki from Lyon for a sum of €40 million ($46m/£34m). Now according to Foot Mercato, City and Lyon are also in negotiations to send one of McAtee or Echeverri to Lyon on a loan deal to help replace the departing star.

Having already wrapped up transfers for Tijjani Reijnders from AC Milan and Rayan Ait-Nouri from Wolves, City had targeted Lyon's Cherki to reinforce their attack. Cherki, who has 12 goals and 20 assists in all competitions, was also a target for City's rivals Liverpool and German club Borussia Dortmund. The good relationship between Lyon and City means that the English side may send McAtee or Echeverri the other way on a one-year loan. McAtee, 22, wants to have more playing time and Lyon could provide a perfect platform for the player to get some much-needed experience under his belt.

Cherki's 48 successful dribbles were enough to earn him the Ligue 1 Best Dribbler award for the 2024-25 season - a new award handed out for the first time this year.

City are set to take on Wydad Casablanca on June 18th in the Club World Cup and will hope to have their new signings ready to go by then. Lyon, meanwhile, would be hoping to provide manager Paulo Fonseca with maximum reinforcements after they missed out on a Champions League spot on the last day of the season.