Rayan Cherki spent the first hour of Manchester City's season opener on the bench, then came on to set up both goals in a 2-1 comeback win over Bournemouth. The French international went on to start against Crystal Palace, scoring twice, further strengthening his credentials to be a regular starter. Former Man City star Bacary Sagna, however, thinks otherwise.
Speaking exclusively to The Action Network, Sagna thinks no player, despite their obvious talent, should be guaranteed a starting spot. The former French international also backed Phil Foden to rediscover his form before commenting on Leny Yoro’s spell at Manchester United so far.
No guarantees, not even for Cherki
Cherki's frustration at being benched for the visit of Bournemouth was well documented before he came off the bench to inspire the turnaround. Sagna's view on the original decision to leave him out in the first place has not changed one bit.
"No player should be guaranteed to play. It's not good for the squad or for the player himself. Players should be earning the right to play and being on the bench can be a tactical decision. Tactically the coach is thinking about doing something different and then the coach probably realizes that I was wrong and I need a player like him to unlock situations, and he did."
Will Cherki be the player whose performances can increase Man City’s chances of winning the Premier League this season? Check out what prediction markets are saying about him and the Citizens though the best prediction market apps.
For Sagna, the story of that Bournemouth game, and the season ahead, is as much about Maresca's willingness to change course as it is about Cherki's response to it.
"So fair play to Rayan Cherki but fair play to the coach also because sometimes you have tactical ideas that are not working and then you need to change. So I think the decision to use him from the bench was tactical."
Foden's reset under Maresca
Phil Foden has called his last couple of seasons under Pep Guardiola draining, and is now fighting Cherki, Jeremy Doku and Antoine Semenyo for a place in Maresca's attack. Sagna sees a familiar pattern in Foden's dip, one that traces back to how his career started.
"Well he's another player that started out young. We were talking about being treated unfairly and Foden started by climbing the Kilimanjaro and people got used to him doing amazingly well."
The Citizens face newly promoted Coventry this Saturday and their probability of winning the game stands at 85% according to Kalshi. If you want to trade event contracts on these outcomes, check out our Kalshi promo code.
Sagna thinks Foden's form has always been tied closely to the team around him, for better or worse. A managerial change and a fresh role battle do not worry him in the slightest.
"At the time he was starting making his way into the Man City XI, the team was doing amazingly and beating everyone else. So it also goes with the form of the team. If the team is flying and he is playing, he has a higher chance of performing well. And if the team is struggling, he will also struggle because despite being a good player, the vibe of the team, the energy and the form will surely impact his game."
"But I'm not worried for him because he's a top player and Man City is his home. He will surely have some time to play and slowly get back to shining again."
Leny Yoro's tough spell
Manchester United's season began with a shock 2-0 defeat to newly promoted Hull City. Yoro did not feature in the Hull fixture and the next game against Ipswich where a Bruno Fernandes hat-trick helped the Red Devils win 5-2. Concerns naturally will begin to arise about his lack of playing time but Sagna is quick to highlight how difficult it can be to be part of a struggling Manchester United team.
"He is another top player but he came to a sick team. When he joined, the team was sick. So yes I would love to see him perform well when everyone else is doing well but they started badly. You know when the team is not in form, to shine individually is more difficult. It's not impossible because Bruno Fernandes proved it."
Defenders, Sagna argues, are especially exposed when the team in front of them is not functioning.
"But if the whole team is struggling and the team is sick, then there's a higher chance you get sick too and in trouble. You're going to have times over the course of the season where it's going to be tougher for you because you're going to get exposed as a defender."
Sagna's larger point is that Yoro's ceiling has never been the question. It is the context around him at Old Trafford that needs to change.
"He's a nice prospect, an amazing player. If he came to Arsenal and Arsenal were shining, he would probably have been shining too. So it's not only about the quality of the player, it's also about how the team is performing at that time. I think hopefully United as a team will bounce back and Yoro will have a good season because he's a top player."
