In today’s rapidly evolving world of football, the old-fashioned maverick seems to be a rarity, with the focus shifting towards athletes who can execute well-drilled, NFL-style strategies. However, this trend might not last forever, as the sport naturally cycles through different phases. For now, it’s the players who excel in speed and strength who dominate the field.

Enter Rayan Cherki, a player who defies the conventional mold of the modern forward. Cherki embodies a free-spirited approach that harks back to a bygone era of football, a quality that many top clubs may have overlooked. But his unique style is precisely what sets him apart in today’s game.

It’s this very quality that reportedly appealed to Pep Guardiola, who has been vocal about his concerns over football’s increasing dependence on data and structured play. It becomes clear why Manchester City invested £31 million in Cherki from Lyon this past summer when considering Guardiola’s longing for spontaneity in the game.

Before their match against Bournemouth, Guardiola elaborated on this need for balance in his squad, suggesting that the lineup from their previous outing at Villa Park was overly offensive.

This discussion also touched upon the challenge of integrating both Cherki and Phil Foden into the starting eleven—a topic that seemed perhaps premature given Bournemouth’s reputation under Andoni Iraola for capitalizing on turnovers. Despite the initial doubts, circumstances forced Guardiola to experiment with this pairing, resulting in a surprisingly effective collaboration.

Erling Haaland spearheaded Manchester City to a 3-1 win over Bournemouth on Sunday

New recruit Rayan Cherki was also at the centre of City’s success, providing two assists on the day

Mavericks are in short supply but in Cherki, Pep Guardiola has found one

When Tijjani Reijnders was unavailable to start due to fitness concerns, Cherki and Foden were thrust together on the pitch. It was a gamble that paid off, as Cherki ended the day with two assists, and Foden contributed another, leaving their mark on all three goals scored.

‘Cherki and Foden play one touch, bam bam,’ Iraola said somewhat cheerily, as if revelling in the street ability they can bring. ‘Then against Erling Haaland if you lose one metre, you are not recovering. It is going to be three metres at the end of the play.’

Foden became the youngest City player ever to reach 200 league appearances and the last few of those have been a natural progression to his development. Guardiola said recently that he wants Foden as close to goal as possible but the way in which he has been knitting City together from a deeper starting point is possibly offering them another unexpected string.

Is this how he is able to name both men alongside each other? They created five chances between them, directly combining for two goals – the second of which, for Nico O’Reilly, relied on Foden’s low centre of gravity on the half turn – and dovetailed with an uplifting exuberance. Just as Villa was not disastrous, this was not perfect, although the signs are broadly positive.

City’s squad were given Friday off so organised themselves a Halloween party the night before. The self-deprecating theme was, ‘I know what you did last season’ – a horror by their standards – and it’s fair to say they never quite had this level of sharp patterns through the lines, even if it will take some time to find consistency.

‘Rayan’s vision in the final third is so good, the consistency, the courage to play,’ Guardiola said, while stressing he stills needs to find the rhythm of the Premier League – noticeable by his reactions when the 22-year-old lost a couple of balls in dangerous areas after half time.

‘He has this special talent, the connection with the people up front that is unique.’ That should be no great shock: Cherki had 20 assists for Lyon in all competitions last season. Over the past year, none of his contemporaries in Europe’s top five leagues have managed more assists, expected assists, shot-creating actions or progressive passes per 90.

The Frenchman’s 85 per cent passing accuracy showcases how many killer balls he attempted

He left the pitch with 17 minutes to go after a stellar display, and the Etihad rose as one

That is why, when Guardiola called him in to rest with 17 minutes left, the Etihad rose as one. An appreciation for a maverick whose pass completion of 85 per cent showcases how many killer balls he was attempting.

These dwindling number of mavericks have this unifying quality, partly why fans always paid their money to attend at a weekend. Somewhere that has been lost in recent years and it would be a feather in the cap of City’s coaching staff if they can harness Cherki to such an extent that some flamboyance returns to this league.