Premier League champions Manchester City are targeting one-time Liverpool target Jeremy Doku and a former Belgium international sees similarities between the Rennes ace and Eden Hazard.
On Monday, ESPN reported that Pep Guardiola’s side had opened talks with Rennes regarding a potential £45 million deal for their 21-year-old speed demon.
Jeremy Doku – labelled a ‘diamond in the rough’ by one Kevin de Bruyne after opening his Belgium account back in 2021 – has emerged as one of Manchester City’s leading transfer targets following Riyad Mahrez’s move to Saudi Arabia.
And while some will question whether Doku is really ready to join Guardiola’s treble winners – he scored or assisted only eight Ligue 1 goals last season – Newcastle United cult hero Philippe Albert believes those Hazard-like tendencies stand winger in good stead to develop further under arguably the greatest coach in the game.
Manchester City in Jeremy Doku talks with Rennes
“He has incredible qualities that we discovered at Anderlecht,” Albert tells RTBF. “I don’t think the step (to Manchester City) is too high. He has the qualities to impose himself in the Premier League, or any other league in the world.
“If he is physically at 100 per cent, he will make his mark and scare the opponents. He’s a bit like Eden Hazard at the beginning of his career, with double and triple gears that can really hurt (defenders).”
Doku turned down a move to Liverpool as a teenager, despite Jurgen Klopp’s belief that he had the potential to become the second-coming of Sadio Mane. Doku was even given a guided tour around Liverpool’s training ground and spoke to Steven Gerrard among others, but felt his development would be better served playing more regular first-team football at Anderlecht.
Five years on, Doku would move to England a far more mature player. If not quite the finished article.
“In England, he would be a real nuisance,” Albert adds. “He can play on either flank, but I still believe that a player has to play on his favoured foot. So I would put him on the right.
“The role of a winger is also to feed the striker.”
And there is no better striker in world football right now than Erling Haaland.
Rennes coach Bruno Genesio admitted earlier in the week that Doku may be allowed to leave for the right price, suggesting that a bid of 50 million euros could do the trick.
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