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JUST IN: Manchester City Strike €40m Deal To Sign Rayan Cherki From Lyon—-Manchester City have agreed a deal with Olympique Lyonnais to sign French playmaker Rayan Cherki, with a five-year contract set to be completed in the coming hours.

The two clubs reached an agreement on Monday morning after City improved their initial offer. While the final fee has not been disclosed, it is understood to be in the region of €40 million (£33.7 million).

Cherki is expected to fly out shortly to join City’s squad for the FIFA Club World Cup in the United States, which begins next week.

The 21-year-old has agreed personal terms and will remain under contract at the Etihad Stadium until 2030.

City begin their tournament against Wydad Casablanca on June 18 before further fixtures against Al Ain and Juventus in the group stage.

Cherki, who came through Lyon’s academy and made his first-team debut at 16, has long been viewed as one of France’s brightest talents.

He made 185 appearances for Lyon in all competitions and delivered a career-best campaign in 2024-25, registering 12 goals and 20 assists.

That included goals in both legs of Lyon’s Europa League semi-final against Manchester United, and a place in the competition’s Team of the Season.

His form also earned him a first senior call-up for France during the UEFA Nations League finals this month. He made his debut off the bench in a semi-final defeat to Spain before starting and scoring in a third-place win over Germany.

Cherki’s creativity and versatility have been key to his rise. Naturally two-footed, he is capable of playing across attacking midfield positions and both flanks.

While less structured than Pep Guardiola’s usual midfield options, Cherki’s flair, vision and dribbling ability offer a different dimension.

Lyon were initially reluctant to sell, but financial pressures forced their hand. The club had been issued a provisional relegation and transfer ban in November due to financial concerns.

Club owner John Textor had previously insisted Cherki would not be sold, but mounting debt and an impending financial audit by French football’s governing body meant Lyon accepted City’s improved bid.

Cherki is now poised to begin the next chapter of his career in Manchester and could make his debut before the end of the month.

The move brings a long-running transfer saga to an end and adds another talented creative force to Guardiola’s evolving squad.

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BREAKING: Victor Osimhen Stars As Nigeria Beat Algeria To Set Up Morocco Semi-Final Clash

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Nigeria Beat Algeria To Set Up Morocco Semi-Final Clash

BREAKING: Victor Osimhen Stars As Nigeria Beat Algeria To Set Up Morocco Semi-Final Clash—-The Super Eagles of Nigeria have qualified for the semi-final of the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.

The Super Eagles pulled off a stunning display to beat Algeria 2-0 in their quarter-final clash on Saturday evening, to book their spot.

Eric Chelle’s men dominated the Desert Foxes for most of the first half, but failed to find the back of the net.

The closest Nigeria came to opening the scoring, came when Calvin Bassey’s effort was cleared off the line.

But in the second half, Victor Osimhen headed in Bruno Onyemaechi’s cross, before setting up Akor Adams for the second goal.

The three-time African champions will now clash with the hosts Morocco for a place in the final.

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The Atlas Lions of Morocco Reaches AFCON 2025 Semis, As Indomitable Lions of Cameroon Bows Out

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Morocco Reaches AFCON 2025 Semis

The Atlas Lions of Morocco Reaches AFCON 2025 Semis, As Indomitable Lions of Cameroon Bows Out—-Brahim Diaz continued his remarkable Africa Cup of Nations scoring streak and Ismael Saibari added another as hosts Morocco saw off Cameroon 2–0 in a tense quarter-final on Friday, keeping their title dreams firmly on track.

Roared on by more than 64,000 fans in Rabat, Real Madrid winger Diaz got the crucial touch to Ayoub El Kaabi’s 26th-minute header at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium.

Diaz’s fifth goal in five games and a second-half strike from Saibari earned Morocco a deserved win and a semi-final meeting with the winner of Algeria vs Nigeria.

The semi-final is likely to present a much tougher challenge for Walid Regragui’s team than Cameroon, who had aimed to spring an upset after surpassing expectations by progressing this far despite a difficult build-up to the tournament.

Five-time African champions Cameroon were largely toothless in attack, with Manchester United forward Bryan Mbeumo kept quiet throughout.

Morocco, Africa’s top-ranked team and World Cup semi-finalists in 2022, are under enormous pressure to win the Cup of Nations in front of their own fans, half a century after their last continental title.

There have been doubts as to whether they can handle the weight of expectation, but they remain on course to achieve their objective –- it is the first time Morocco have reached the AFCON semi-finals since they lost the 2004 final to Tunisia.

The hosts were unchanged from their 1-0 last-16 win over Tanzania as they looked to continue an unbeaten record going back to their defeat by South Africa at the 2024 AFCON.

Fresh from knocking out South Africa in the last round here, Cameroon were clearly banking on frustrating Morocco as much as possible in an attempt to turn the crowd against the home side.

Morocco were beaten by the Cameroonians in the semi-finals the last time they hosted AFCON in 1988, but a repeat outcome never really looked likely.

David Pagou’s team were not helped by the early loss of right wing-back Jackson Tchamadeu, who tried to carry on after Noussair Mazraoui landed heavily on his knee before eventually being stretchered off.

Moments after that, Morocco scored. Achraf Hakimi sent in a corner from the right which was headed towards goal by El Kaabi at the near post, and the ball struck Diaz in the groin before going in.

That calmed a frenetic home support, who cheered their team off at the break after seeing Abde Ezzalzouli and El Kaabi come close to adding further goals.

Morocco were on top, and Cameroon’s response was to change formation after the break, from a back three to a 4-2-3-1, in an attempt to create more danger.

Ezzalzouli headed just over from a Hakimi corner, and then a cross by the Paris Saint-Germain star caused havoc in the Cameroon box as Samuel Kotto hooked the ball away from the line.

Mbeumo had appeals for a penalty dismissed by the Mauritanian referee before PSV Eindhoven’s Saibari fired in the killer second goal on 74 minutes after controlling Ezzalzouli’s dead-ball delivery, as Morocco march on to Wednesday’s semis.

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