"He has a gift, which he is exploiting" - Kylian Mbappe hails 'special' Manchester City superstar in France press conference

Real Madrid star Kylian Mbappe has heaped praise on Manchester City star Rayan Cherki. He believes his compatriot is a special talent and backed the 22-year-old to secure his place in the national team.

Speaking to the media ahead of France's FIFA World Cup qualifier against Ukraine, Mbappe praised Cherki for adapting well at Manchester City. He believes the youngster has done well and urged him to do the same with the national team. He said (via RMC Sport):

"He's a special talent. For me, he has a gift, which he is in the process of exploiting. He is an innate, spectacular talent. He has integrated very well into the group and at Manchester City, which is not easy. I hope he will continue like this. With us, he started well. Now he has an opportunity to come back, I hope he will be as good as he was at Manchester City."

Mbappe added that Cherki has the chance to impress with the national team in the qualifiers, saying:

"In the national team, there is no time for automatisms. I don't know if he's going to play tomorrow, but he knows what he has to do, he has the qualities to do it. If he plays tomorrow, like the 11 players who will play and the 5 who will come in, we have to prove that we deserve this jersey."

Rayan Cherki has played just twice for the France national team and scored once. He also played for their Olympic team earlier this year, playing three times.

France manager comments on Manchester City star Rayan Cherki

France manager Didier Deschamps has praised Rayan Cherki, hailing the Manchester City star for his technical abilities. He wants the Frenchman to contribute defensively as well and said (via RMC Sport):

"He has this technical ability to be able to make a difference, through passing or goals. He has freedom like all attacking players, today in modern football you can't afford to lose a player defensively. That he has this ability to be able to come in and make a difference, it's good, we haven't always had that.

"He's only at the very beginning, he had his injury for a month, it took a long time to come back. He changes environment, team, partners but he is capable of being decisive from the start. Even if in absolute terms, when it's at the end of the match with the opponent's fatigue, when you're a technical player like him, there's an advantage. It can help. But he has the ability to start games and be decisive as well."

Rayan Cherki joined Manchester City for £30 million in the summer from Lyon. He has played 13 matches for the Premier League side and has scored four times