Opening bid incoming from Manchester City for France international, says Fabrizio Romano | OneFootball

Manchester City are preparing their opening proposal to Olympique Lyonnais for creative midfielder Rayan Cherki, according to reports.

The France international has seemingly emerged as a leading candidate to be brought in by Etihad Stadium officials this summer as they look to refresh and rejuvenate Pep Guardiola’s playing squad off the back of a difficult campaign.

The confirmed departure of Kevin De Bruyne has only heightened the requirement for a new creative outlook from the middle of the park, with City officials taking the decision not to renew the Belgian’s contract and allow him to leave on a free transfer.

As a move to Serie A champions Napoli closes in on being formally announced by all parties for the 33-year-old, Manchester City’s own search for their first signing of the summer has also stepped up.

And the latest developments concern Rayan Cherki and a potential move to the Etihad Stadium, with the desire being from within the club to get new faces into the squad before the upcoming FIFA Club World Cup tournament in the United States.

According to the information of transfer market insider Fabrizio Romano, Manchester City officials are set to submit their opening bid for Olympique Lyonnais’ creative midfielder as soon as next week.

It is revealed that the plan from within the Etihad Stadium is to accelerate their pursuit of Rayan Cherki as well as sealing a deal for AC Milan and Netherlands international midfielder, Tijjani Reijnders in the coming days.

With regards to the 26-year-old Dutchman, City are believed to already have the green light from the player over a switch, while talks with the Italian club remain ongoing to reach an agreement over a transfer fee.

It remains to be seen whether the arrivals of Cherki and Reijnders, as well as possibly Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White, could spark departures from the first-team squad, with City known to not stand in the way of players and their wish to take on a fresh challenge.

There has been growing talk from within Turkish media over the last few days regarding possible interest in Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva, while James McAtee is another central name expected to depart in the coming weeks.

Aside from existing stars, Kalvin Phillips and Kyle Walker are due to find new opportunities away from the club, with the former currently recovering from surgery on an Achilles problem and the veteran right-back seeing AC Milan reject the possibility of a permanent deal.