Manchester City forward Jeremy Doku is one of the most attractive wingers to watch in the Premier League. His trickery and immaculate footwork leaves many on the edge of their seats and with time, the 22-year-old is only bound to get better.
The Belgian international is in his second season at the Etihad Stadium having checked-in from Ligue 1 side Rennes last year. He has not broken into Pep Guardiola’s starting eleven as a regular fixture so far but has proven to be a trump card off the bench, although occasional starting eleven berths have occurred for the player.
Doku is slowly but surely emerging as a fan favourite among the Manchester City supporters. However, opposition fans have alleged him of being effective only against the older full backs he has come up against, particularly those over the age of 30.
A user on X (formerly Twitter) by the username @cagiago_ makes the most of every match in which Doku fails to perform by “checking” the age of his opposition’s right back. In turn, the user, who goes by the name Jay, runs his banter, which in fairness, a lot of other fans also engage in in order to troll that City youngster.
A young player of Doku’s calibre has been effective against full backs over the age of 30, with the likes James Milner and Vladimir Coufal struggling to keep up with his pace.
On the other hand, the forward has also endured rough times against some older players such as Dani Carvajal, who thwarted him well in the Champions League quarter-final earlier this year.
However, claims that the player absolutely does not perform against defenders aged under 30 are ridiculous to say the least.
In one of his very first appearances at the Etihad Stadium when Manchester City thumped Bournemouth, Doku provided four assists and scored one as he led the team’s 6-1 procession when he came up against a 23-year-old right-back, Max Aarons.
In a 3-2 win against Fulham before the international break, Doku was once again decisive for City when he came up against the 28-year-old Timothy Castagne. He recorded an assist off the bench after putting his compatriot in a very difficult position with some neat footwork and body movement.
If performances against reasonably good players like Aarons and Castagne are not proof enough of Doku’s qualities against players in the best years of their career, he has enjoyed success against some better right backs than the Premier League duo, including the likes of Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Mohamed Simakan and Pedro Porro.
In the FA Cup Final last season, he scored against Manchester United in a 2-1 defeat as he danced away from Wan-Bissaka. Just a couple of weeks before, he successfully outdid Pedro Porro to assist Erling Haaland’s goal in a match that was pivotal in helping City clinch the title.
And against Simakan as well in the Champions League group stage, he provided an assist, which proved differential once more as City earned a narrow 3-2 win on home soil against RB Leipzig last season.
It could not be far from the truth that Doku has struggled against younger names. Admittedly, he may not have been in the thick of goals and assists and that is certainly an aspect of the game the forward needs to work on, he adds a lot more on the pitch with his general creativity.
It will be interesting to see how his season progresses, particularly with Jack Grealish underperforming, and if a consistent run of starts is on the cards for Doku in which he can certainly prove his critics wrong.
