Denis Dmitriyevich Cheryshev (Russian: Денис Дмитриевич Черышев; born 26 December 1990) is a Russian professional footballer who plays as a left winger for Spanish club Valencia CF on loan from Villarreal CF, and the Russian national team.
A youth product of Real Madrid, he made his senior debut for the reserves in 2009 and with the first team in 2012. He then had loan spells at Sevilla, Villarreal and Valencia before joining Villarreal permanently in 2016, and returned to Valencia on loan two years later.
Having earned 45 caps and scored 23 goals in its youth categories, Cheryshev made his debut for Russia in 2012. He was a participant at the 2018 World Cup.Early years
Born in Nizhny Novgorod, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Soviet Union, Cheryshev started his career at Sporting de Gijón, where his father Dmitri was playing at the time. He soon followed him to his next club, Burgos, entering its youth system at the age of 9.[2]
During his spell, Cheryshev was selected to play for the youth levels of the Castile and León regional team.[3]
Real Madrid
Cheryshev joined Real Madrid in 2002, and completed his formative years in their academy.[4] Still a junior, he appeared in nine Segunda División games with Real Madrid Castilla during the 2008–09 season; it was also during this time he formed a long-lasting friendship with future Spanish national team player Nacho.[5]
Over the next two years, Cheryshev played 61 matches and scored 11 goals for the reserve side. He was an important attacking unit as the latter campaign ended in promotion to Segunda División, after a five-year absence.[6]
Cheryshev made his debut in division two on 17 August 2012, playing the full 90 minutes in a 1–2 away loss against Villarreal.[7] On 27 November, he made his official debut for the first team in a 3–0 home win (7–1 on aggregate) over Alcoyano in the season's Copa del Rey.[8][9]
