Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas has confirmed Manchester United were interested in youngster Rayan Cherki before he signed his first professional deal at the club.
The 16-year-old is one of the hottest prospects in Ligue 1, having broken through at a very early age over the past couple of seasons, tallying 12 first-team appearances, scoring three goals and assisting another two.
Naturally, interest in the youngster is fierce, and both Manchester United and Real Madrid have been named among his suitors.
Last month we covered a report from Real Madrid fan website Defensa Central that Manchester United had attempted to sign the midfielder before he signed his first deal in July last year.
They explained that United had made a ‘practically irresistible offer’ to tempt him to Old Trafford, in which it was made clear he would receive a professional deal and pay increase when he turned 17.
However, they ultimately ended up missing out on a deal because of Zinedine Zidane. Upon hearing of Manchester United’s interest, he insisted Madrid intervene, convincing Florentino Pérez to call Aulas.
They worked out a deal that will see Cherki, who is keen to go to Spain, move to the Bernabeu in future and so he signed his new contract at Lyon.
Aulas has now gone some way to confirming those rumours, revealing that Manchester United were interested.
“He is undoubtedly a player who will go to the very top. That is why we have made the effort to sign him”, he told Telefoot.
“The two clubs interested when we took the decision were Real Madrid and Manchester United.
“We want him to succeed with Lyon. We want to support him, and that is why we are taking things in a progressive manner.
“We hope to have, in the years to come, not only an attacking leader but a leader from the academy”.
