'Means what it means' - Thierry Henry hopeful he 'annoyed' Rayan Cherki with France U21 snub as he challenges Lyon star to 'show character all the time'

Henry backed Cherki to rediscover his best form after a difficult run at Lyon that has seen his stock drop this season. The midfielder was highly sought after last January, and even on the periphery of the France senior side. But Henry dropped him ahead of the March break - only bringing him in due to shortages elsewhere.

In a press conference, Henry insisted that Cherki needs to return to form: "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 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."

The 20-year-old seems to have reacted to his sub, scoring his first goal of the season against Toulouse over the weekend. After his performance, Henry asserted that Cherki can still be one of the best in the world: "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."

The attacking midfielder will hope to crack the XI for Henry's side as they take on the Ivory Coast and United States this month. After that, he is set to return to France, where he will hope to make an impact for a recovering Lyon side - who are now 10th in Ligue 1.