Rayan Cherki recalled to France U23 squad

Thierry Henry will recall Rayan Cherki (20) to his France under-23s squad after the withdrawals of Georginio Rutter (21) and Joris Chotard (22). 

Cherki was notably missing from Henry’s squad announcement last week as he began his preparations for the Summer Olympics with friendlies against the Ivory Coast and the United States. 

The forward’s recent struggles in the Olympique Lyonnais shirt appeared to have come at an inopportune time, as Henry has been clear that he will only be selecting players who are consistently performing for their club side. 

Malo Gusto and Bradley Barcola have been included in the France U21 squad, Rayan Cherki and Mathys Tel are absent.

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This season has been anything but a story of consistency for Cherki as he has flittered out of the starting lineup for Lyon and found it difficult to impact games. 

It appeared a slightly cruel irony that the squad announcement came before Lyon’s Friday night victory over Toulouse FC where Cherki had his brightest game of the season. The Frenchman scored the equaliser and assisted the winning goal as Lyon won 3-2. However, with these latest withdrawals, perhaps it was the exact right time for the mercurial playmaker to find his groove. 

Henry in the meantime will not select a second player to replace Rutter and Chotard as he wants to give himself some more time to consider who he will call up alongside Cherki. 

GFFN | Nick Hartland