Manchester City begin their bid for a fourth Premier League title in a row this evening when they visit Turf Moor to take on Burnley.
Pep Guardiola has strengthened his side by adding Mateo Kovacic and Josko Gvardiol during the summer transfer window, and it appears as though the Spaniard is looking to bolster his attacking options by making a move for Rennes winger Jeremy Doku.
Could Manchester City sign Jeremy Doku?
According to The Telegraph, Guardiola has identified Doku as a target and a move is being ‘strongly considered’ before the end of the transfer window in a few weeks.
The Ligue 1 side have valued the 21-year-old at between €50m-€60m (£43m-£52m) and this shouldn’t present any real problem for City as they look to fill the void left by Riyad Mahrez.
The Algerian winger departed the Etihad side following a hugely successful five-year stint in Manchester, winning four league titles along with the Champions League during that time.
Saudi Arabian side Al Ahli met their asking price of £30m and although this is an excellent piece of business considering he is 32 years old, Guardiola is now eyeing up a replacement.
How good is Jeremy Doku?
Mahrez did make 36 starts across all competitions last season, scoring 15 goals and grabbing 13 assists and these totals could be difficult to replace.
The left-footed winger primarily operated on the right wing, cutting inside on a regular basis and Doku also features on the right flank.
The Belgian starlet burst onto the scene with Anderlecht in his homeland before making the move to Rennes in 2020 and the youngster has already racked up an impressive 131 senior appearances, registering 35 goal contributions along the way.
Doku showed a growing maturity by ranking third across the whole squad last season with regard to overall Sofascore match rating (7.15/10) and for big chances created (six), while topping the pile for successful dribbles per game (3.3), showing that he can terrorise defenders with his dribbling ability while having the quality to set up chances for others.
In contrast, Mahrez succeeded with just 0.8 dribbles per game, while creating only three more big chances throughout the league season than Doku, and it’s evident that he could be an ideal long-term successor to the former Leicester City winger.
Doku has certainly made a major impact in terms of his performances compared to positional peers over the previous 365 days. During this time, the 14-cap Belgian ranks in the top 1% across the top five European leagues over a wide range of attacking metrics, including progressive carries, progressive passes, touches in the attacking penalty area, shot-creating actions and non-penalty goals.
This clearly indicates that he is a player who is ready to make an impact in the City starting XI straight away, while he has the attributes to develop into a truly world-class player under the tutelage of Guardiola.
Hailed as a “menace” by U23 scout Antonio Mango earlier this year, Doku has emerged as one of the most highly rated attackers on the continent and judging by his recent statistics, he would fill in the void left by Mahrez with ease.
