Gallagher's verdict on City's new era
Noel Gallagher has a clear answer for anyone wondering who City's next great talisman should be. It is not Erling Haaland. It is not even the £125m deadline-day arrival Enzo Fernandez. The lifelong Blue has looked at the new-look dressing room and settled on Rayan Cherki as the man to shape it around.
Speaking on talkSPORT, Gallagher was unequivocal about the 23-year-old Frenchman's place in the side. "They need to build the team around him," he said.
"He's got that indefinable thing that magicians have."
High praise, and the kind that tends to make a player's ears burn. But Cherki has spent the opening weeks of the season backing up the billing rather than shrinking from it.
A fast start at the Etihad
The numbers are already stacking up. Two assists against Bournemouth, then two goals at Selhurst Park in last Friday's 4-1 win at Crystal Palace. Not a bad way to introduce yourself to a new crowd.
Gallagher's description of Cherki goes beyond the usual footballer platitudes. There is a rough edge to him, and Gallagher clearly enjoys it. "He's gnarly, he says mad stuff, but I mean, he's an absolute diamond," he said.
It is some praise for a player who arrived in the same window as Enzo Fernandez and Iliman Ndiaye, joining an attacking group already containing Haaland and Phil Foden. Competition for places is not exactly thin on the ground.
Whether Enzo Maresca shares Gallagher's view remains to be seen. But if Cherki keeps producing performances like the one at Palace, the manager may not have much choice in the matter.