Why Man City are prepared to spend big on wing-wizard Jeremy Doku

 

Phil Foden won the WhoScored player of the match award from the right flank. Julian Alvarez scored the winning goal starting from the number 10 role. Manchester City secured a 1-0 win over Newcastle on Saturday night, that in itself a tough match given the Magpies' performances since Eddie Howe took charge. 

 

Impressively yet is that City secured all the spoils despite the absence of Kevin De Bruyne and the sale of Riyad Mahrez. The Premier League champions have strengthened elsewhere, notably in the captures of Josko Gvardiol and Mateo Kovacic to bolster the defence and midfield, respectively, yet they remain in the market for another midfielder to ease De Bruyne's absence and Mahrez's exit. 

 

For the latter, they at least have a replacement coming in. Michael Olise was a rumoured target for City before Chelsea triggered the Frenchman's release clause, only for the former Reading man to extend his stay at Crystal Palace. However, sooner rather than later, Jeremy Doku will be presented as a City player. 

 

On Monday evening it was reported that the treble winners had agreed a £55.5m fee with Rennes for the Belgian wing-wizard as they look to strengthen their frontline before next week's deadline. While the 21-year-old isn't perhaps as refined on the ball as Mahrez, the player he will be replacing, he'll offer City an attacking alternative against low-block sides. 

 

A number of teams look to dig deep when they take on City, of that there is no doubt. City will dominate possession to grind teams down before striking. Doku, though, offers a different threat down the right, that requires less intricate pass and move patterns, and instead maximises his greatest strength - his dribbling. 

 

Since the start of the 2022/23 Ligue 1 season, Doku has completed more dribbles (105) than any other player, this despite only starting 14 of a possible 40 league matches. In the opening round of 2023/24 games, he completed nine of those, returning a 100% dribble success rate in the process. He can ride a challenge and then some, and this will help City when they face off against resolute defences. 

 

 

Used largely as an impact sub for Rennes in Ligue 1 last season, it's expected that Doku will play a similar role for City in his debut campaign in order to help ease him into English football, but to also offer a different threat against tiring backlines. Playing against City is exhausting. For much of the game, players will end up chasing shadows as they play on the backfoot. Yet meetings with Pep Guardiola's side are mentally draining just as they are physically. So you can imagine left-backs will be shaking in their boots at the prospect of facing off against Doku having already struggled for an hour or so. 

 

And it's not just that Doku completes plenty of dribbles, but he does so consistently too. Wingers can often be guilty of trying to repeatedly get the better of marker. They try and try again and while the number of successful dribbles is high, the overall success rate is low. That being said, Doku boasts a dribble success rate of 68.2% since the start of last season. He routinely gets the better of the marker and playing against weary legs for a dominant City side, the Belgium international should feel confident of putting up similar numbers for Guardiola's side. 

 

This desire to drive past an opponent will also provide another route to goal for City; through set-pieces. City scored the fifth most set-piece goals in the Premier League last season, with 14. This includes corners, so to be taken with a pinch of salt, but did rank top for penalties scored (9). It's late on in a game, and Doku is running at speed with the ball at his feet. He's knocked the ball past a defender and into the 18-yard box. With tiredness setting in, a marker may make a lazy challenge to stop the wideman in his tracks, leaving the referee with no choice but to point to the spot. Of the 318 players to have made at least 20 appearances since the start of last season, Doku has been fouled an average of once every 35 minutes, the 10th most in Ligue 1. It's another reason to fear City.

 

However, as we have seen in the past, Guardiola is happy to sacrifice individual qualities for the collective. Jack Grealish had creative freedom at Villa prior to his move to City, and has since been coached to become a better team player. Grealish still shows moments of magic, but these are far less frequent with City than they were at Villa, and fans can perhaps come to expect similar of Doku. Nevertheless, even for a player in his position, Doku is still regularly finding a teammate. An 86.4% pass success rate from 34.5 passes per 90 in France's top tier last term is decent for a winger, particularly one who'll so often look to breeze past an opponent.  

 

Either way, City are signing a very exciting winger who'll play a key role in maintaining their domestic, and potentially European, dominance. Doku does have rough edges that need smoothing, though Guardiola will work tirelessly to ensure the youngster continues his development. At 21 years of age, there is plenty more to come from Doku. He's set to take the Premier League by storm.

Why Man City are prepared to spend big on wing-wizard Jeremy Doku