Cherki Embraces New Era Under Zidane with Les Bleus

Zinedine Zidane is finally walking through the front door of the France national team, not as its No.10, but as its manager. The wait, the speculation, the what-ifs – all of it ends during this international break, when one of the game’s great architects takes his place on the touchline for Les Bleus.

Among the players about to discover what that actually feels like is City’s attacking midfielder, Rayan Cherki. At 23, he is no longer the bright prospect on the fringes. Fourteen caps, two goals, and a growing presence in the squad have pushed him into the conversation as a genuine option for France’s future. Now he walks into camp with Zidane holding the whistle.

For this generation, Zidane is not a grainy YouTube compilation or a distant legend. He is the man in charge. The weight of his name still changes the air in a room, and Cherki did not bother hiding what that means to him.

“It is going to be an honour to join a new manager, especially Zidane,” he told Canal+. “We’re looking forward to starting work with him and really enjoying the experience.”

The excitement is not just about nostalgia. Cherki arrives in form. Over the weekend he found the net in City’s wild 5-3 Premier League win over Sunderland, another sharp finish in a growing collection. That strike took him to three goals in five league matches, the kind of return that forces a national coach to take notice. Stretch the numbers across all competitions and the picture looks even brighter: four goals and two assists in eight games.

He is not just making up the numbers in this squad. He is pushing.

Now the focus shifts from club chaos to international structure. Zidane will gather his first group this week, the opening act of a new regime. On the training pitch, ideas will be tested, roles defined, hierarchies quietly redrawn. Players who thrived under the previous setup will have to prove themselves all over again. Those on the edge, like Cherki, will sense a door slightly open.

This is where the real work begins. Zidane’s philosophy – his positional demands, his expectations in possession, his ruthlessness without the ball – will start to filter through every drill. For creative midfielders, it is both a dream and a challenge. Zidane understands their instincts better than most, but he also knows exactly what separates flair from efficiency at the highest level.

For Cherki, the equation is simple and brutal: turn club form into international impact, or watch someone else do it. These upcoming fixtures are more than dates on a calendar; they are an audition in front of a manager whose approval still carries a rare authority in French football.

He has the numbers. He has the confidence. Now he has Zidane.

What he does with that combination in the coming days may define his place in Les Bleus for years to come.