Manchester City star named as only contender for Player of the Year by football broadcaster

Manchester City star named as only contender for Player of the Year by football broadcaster

• Adrian Durham insists Cherki is the ‘only contender’ for Premier League Footballer of the Year
• Durham dismisses Arsenal players as “robots” who are undeserving of individual honours
• Cherki has 20 goal contributions in all competitions this season in debut Man City term

talkSPORT presenter Adrian Durham has claimed that Manchester City’s Rayan Cherki has already won the Premier League Footballer of the Year award.

Cherki has been one of the standout performers in English football this season since joining Manchester City from Lyon for £34 million last summer, reaching 20 goal contributions in all competitions and producing a series of virtuoso displays that have earned him widespread admiration across the game.

The 22-year-old was at his brilliant best in Manchester City’s 4-0 FA Cup quarter-final demolition of Liverpool last weekend, pulling the strings and contributing to a performance that assistant manager Pepijn Lijnders described as another step in his growing influence on City’s season.

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He has cemented his status as a cult hero at the Etihad Stadium both for his football and his irrepressible personality.

Durham: Cherki has won footballer of the year already

Speaking on talkSPORT, presenter Adrian Durham was unequivocal in his verdict when assessing the candidates for the game’s most coveted individual honour.

“I’m thinking of the Footballer of the Year,” he said. “You can’t have any Arsenal players, they’re not footballers, okay? They’re just robots. So you can’t have any Arsenal players as player of the year.”

Turning his attention to Cherki, Durham left no room for ambiguity. “He is the only contender for Footballer of the Year. Rayan Cherki has won it already.”

Durham went on to expand on his reasoning, insisting that Arsenal‘s style of play – however effective – does not constitute the kind of football that warrants individual recognition.

“None of us are entertained by Arsenal and you can’t really knock what they’re doing,” Durham added. “They’re top of the league. They’re probably going to win the league. If Man City win the Premier League, this is a no-brainer.

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“But if Arsenal do win the Premier League, they are just robotic. And we’re talking about Footballer of the Year, not robot of the year. We’re talking footballer of the year who’s playing the football. Are you going to give it to the Arsenal top scorer (Viktor) Gyokeres?

“Are you going to give it to Declan Rice, who hit a couple of free kicks against Real Madrid? There’s nobody who plays football. They’re just bullies at set pieces.

“You can’t give it to a goalkeeper. Goalkeepers aren’t footballers. They’re goalkeepers. Rayan Cherki is literally the only one who’s playing proper football in the Premier League.”

What has Cherki’s season looked like at Manchester City?

Durham’s comments will resonate strongly with City supporters who have watched the former Lyon man grow into one of the most exciting attacking players in the Premier League since his arrival at the Etihad Stadium.

In conversation with official Manchester City channels earlier this year, Cherki said that the squad has “what it takes to win as many trophies as possible” – and his performances have backed those words up, with decisive contributions across the Carabao Cup, FA Cup and Premier League campaigns.

With Pep Guardiola‘s side chasing a domestic treble and the title race against Arsenal entering its defining weeks, Cherki’s quality in the final third could prove the decisive factor in determining how City’s season ends. On the evidence of this season so far, Durham’s assessment is unlikely to find many dissenting voices among the City faithful.