Jérémy Doku

Jérémy Doku
Jérémy Baffour Doku (born 27 May 2002) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Premier League club Manchester City and the Belgium national team. Known for his speed and dribbling ability, he is considered to be one of the most talented young players in the world in his position.
Doku began his senior professional career with Anderlecht during the 2018–19 season, where he went on to score 5 goals in 34 league appearances over several seasons. In 2020 he joined Ligue 1 club Rennes for €26 million going to make 75 appearances, netting 10 goals before signing for Manchester City in September 2023. Doku was called up to the Belgium squad in 2020 having played at every youth level since the under-15's. Due to his quickness, Doku was dubbed The Belgian Flash by talent scouts, however he prefers his childhood nickname Doks.
Club career
Anderlecht
Doku began playing football at a young age in Antwerp for KVC Olympic Deurne and Tubantia Borgerhout, then he played for Beerschot. Later on, he moved to R.S.C. Anderlecht in 2012 at the age of 10. He made his professional debut with Anderlecht in a 4–2 Belgian First Division A loss to Sint-Truiden on 25 November 2018, at the age of 16. He was the seventh youngest player to make his professional debut for Anderlecht, aged 16 years, 5 months and 26 days.
On 1 December 2019, he scored his first professional goal in the league match against KV Oostende, and four days later he also opened his account in the Belgian Cup against Royal Excel Mouscron. On 2 March 2020, Doku scored two goals and provided an assist in the 7–0 win against Zulte Waregem.
Rennes
2020–21: Debut season
On 5 October 2020, Doku signed for Rennes for five years, for €26 million in addition to bonuses, becoming the most expensive signing in the history of the club. Doku scored his first goal for the French club on 20 March 2021 against Metz, but was sent off for a bad challenge later in the same match. On 2 May against Bordeaux, Doku managed 12 successful dribbles, setting a new record in the French League 1, with the previous one held by Brazilian star Neymar with 11 dribbles in PSG's game against Lyon in December 2020. Of the ten players who attempted the most dribbles in the league competition, only Marseille's midfielder Florian Thauvin had a better success percentage than Doku. In his debut season for Rennes, Doku completed a total of 110 dribbles, the most by any player aged under 23 in Europe's top five leagues.
2021–22: Injury problems
In his second season at Rennes, Doku scored only one goal in Ligue 1, having been limited to only 14 appearances by various injuries. He started only four matches and managed a total of 469 minutes over the course of the league campaign. On 2 January 2022, Doku scored the opening goal against AS Nancy in the fourth round of the Coupe de France; however, Rennes lost the match 5–4 on penalties, after the 120 minutes ended with the score 1–1.
2022–23: Return to form
In the first part of the 2022–23 season, Doku was mostly brought on as a substitute by Rennes manager Bruno Génésio, but he returned to being a starter in the final months of the season. Following the departure of Kamaldeen Sulemana in the winter transfer window, Doku was handed the number 10 shirt, having previously worn number 11.
On 12 February 2023 against Toulouse, Doku played the full 90 minutes for the first time since 9 May 2021. Despite Rennes losing the match 3–1, Doku once again completed 12 dribbles, becoming the first player in Europe's top five leagues in the season to tally ten or more dribbles in a single match. Doku had an assist in each of the two legs of Europa League's knockout round play-off against Shakhtar Donetsk, but was unable to prevent his team from being eliminated from the tournament. On 15 April, Doku scored his first brace for Rennes in a 3–0 home victory over Reims. The two goals against Reims were the first for Doku on Rennes' home ground Roazhon Park since he arrived at the club.
On 30 April, Doku had another brace against Angers, securing his team a 4–2 win after scoring the final two goals in the second half, one of them being a spectacular placed volley inside the box. On 21 May, he scored the third goal in Rennes' 5–0 win away against AC Ajaccio, a magnificent solo effort where he started his run with the ball towards the opposition's goal from inside his team's half. Doku finished the season with six goals in the league, helping Rennes to a fourth-place finish.
2023–24: Departure
On 13 August, Doku scored a goal in Rennes' 5–1 win against Metz in their first match of Ligue 1. In an impressive opening match of the season, Doku also completed all nine dribbles he attempted and won 14 duels, most of any player on the pitch.
Doku played his final match for Rennes on 20 August, as a substitute in a 1–1 draw against RC Lens. The next day, on 21 August, it was reported that Rennes accepted a £55 million (€65 million) offer from Manchester City for the transfer of Doku to the Premier League champions. According to several news sources, both club and player rejected an official bid from West Ham United before finalizing the agreement with Manchester City.
Manchester City
On 24 August, Manchester City confirmed the signing of Doku, agreeing a five-year deal with the player. He was given the number 11 shirt for the upcoming season. On 2 September, Doku made his debut for Manchester City in a 5–1 win against Fulham at the Etihad Stadium. On 16 September, he scored his first goal in a 3–1 away win over West Ham United. After the match, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola stated that he didn't expect that kind of performance from Doku in his second appearance for the new club, calling him a "proper winger" and further adding "the way he played today, I don't remember something like that since a long time ago".
On 4 October, Doku scored his first career goal in the UEFA Champions League against RB Leipzig, rounding off a counterattack in stoppage time to convert Julián Álvarez's pass, and sealing Manchester City's 3–1 win in the group match against the Bundesliga side. The goal followed a reversal of the roles between the two players, as only a few minutes earlier Álvarez scored Manchester City's second goal from Doku's assist. Doku had another assist to Álvarez on 22 October, in the Premier League match against Brighton, which Manchester City won 2-1. He was named player of the match after repeatedly beating James Milner on the left side during the game, as former Manchester City player Paul Dickov commented that he "felt sorry for Milner" after the match, and that Doku "looks like a threat every time he has the ball".
On 29 October, Doku played the final minutes of the Manchester derby, having been substituted in for Jack Grealish in the 87th minute. With Manchester City winning 3-0 at Old Trafford against their rivals, Doku suffered a hard foul by opposition winger Antony, after which he confronted the Brazilian, who in turn slammed Doku's arm repeatedly. Despite the intentional kick and aggressive reaction, Antony received only a yellow card, even though according to Manchester United legend Gary Neville he should have been sent off.
International career
Doku represented the Belgium U17s at the 2018 UEFA European Under-17 Championship.
He made his first appearance for the Belgium national team on 5 September 2020 against Denmark in the UEFA Nations League. Three days later, he scored his first goal for the Belgium national team in a 5–1 win against Iceland.
In the UEFA Euro 2020, held in June 2021, Doku was one of the substitutes for the Belgium national team in their group stage match against Denmark, and was included in the starting line-up for the subsequent game against Finland; he was again named to the starting 11 for Belgium's quarter-final 2–1 loss against Italy. Despite Belgium's elimination from the tournament, Doku captured the public's attention with his performance, winning a penalty for his side and completing 8 dribbles, a record for a teenager in the history of the Euro.
In November 2022, Doku was called up by manager Roberto Martínez to the Belgium squad that would compete for the 2022 FIFA World Cup held in Qatar. He made his World Cup debut as a substitute in Belgium's final group match against Croatia.
After Eden Hazard's post-World Cup retirement from the Belgium national team, Doku was given a more prominent role in the squad by new manager Domenico Tedesco. On 12 September 2023, Doku had an assist in the 5-0 win over Estonia in the Group F qualifiers for the UEFA Euro 2024, and was subsequently given the man of the match award after winning 8 duels, completing 6 take-ons and creating 5 chances, more than any other player on the pitch in each category. In Belgium's next qualifying match on 13 October against Austria, Doku helped the national team to a 3-2 win and the securing of qualification for the Euro 2024, as he provided the assist for Romelu Lukaku's winning goal. Doku completed 11 dribbles out of 16 attempted against the Austrians, having set a record for attempted dribbles by any player in the qualification campaign, and was once again voted man of the match.
Player profile
Style of play
Doku is equally comfortable playing on the left wing and on the right wing. According to The Athletic, Doku is "a ball-to-feet winger who constantly changes his positioning to present himself as a progressive passing option". Doku is naturally right-footed, but he also has a strong left foot which he often uses to shoot at the goal after cutting in from the right side or cross from the left. An extremely quick and explosive player with great acceleration, agility, balance and body strength, Doku is most famous for his elite dribbling skills, flair and trickery. His low centre of gravity, body control, unpredictable footwork and rapid change of pace has helped him become one of the world's most effective forwards in one on one situations, ending up with the third best dribbling average per game in the Ligue 1 in 2021, after Neymar and Marco Verratti, and top three in European league competitions in total dribbles in 2023 with Vinícius Júnior and Lionel Messi. Doku's signature move is the shoulder drop ("the chop"), putting his right foot over the ball and making a feint towards the inside, forcing the defender to lean in, followed by a sudden burst to the right, as he keeps the ball under close control. He also frequently uses a drag back spin move when backed against defenders, turning quickly and advancing up the pitch. The step over is also a regular feature in Doku's dribbling repertoire.
As a youth player, Doku was called "arrogant" for his tendency to wait for opposition defenders to recover so he could repeatedly beat them with the ball. Doku declared himself in 2021 "the best dribbler in League 1". Due to his directness, he draws a lot of fouls from opponents, having received a foul once every 35 minutes on average, resulting with him being the 10th most fouled player in the Ligue 1 in 2023. Doku also possesses excellent vision and crossing ability, completing more than 80 percent of his passes. However, he has been criticized for his lack of end product, having scored only 9 league goals in his first three seasons at Rennes.
Due to his direct playing style and African heritage, Doku has often drawn comparisons with Senegalese forward Sadio Mané. He is also frequently compared to Belgian compatriot Eden Hazard and is seen as his successor in the Belgium national team. Doku considers Hazard to be his idol. He also cited Messi and Brazilian legend Ronaldinho as influential in the early development of his profile.
Reception
The comparisons between Doku and Sadio Mané were sparked by German manager Jürgen Klopp, who allegedly made the comment to Doku's father as he was trying to recruit the youngster to Premier League side Liverpool in 2017. Upon calling up Doku for the Euro 2020, Belgium manager Roberto Martínez described him as "an exceptional talent who is very strong one on one". Martínez also praised Doku ahead of the World Cup in 2022, saying: "When I talk about him, I have to smile. He's one of those players who can bring magic to his game." In April 2023, former Arsenal captain Thierry Henry called Doku "extraordinary", adding that "he has never seen anyone so quick in his dribble". Former France international Samir Nasri, who was briefly Doku's teammate at Anderlecht, dubbed Doku "an explosive dribbler" possessing "crazy quality" in one on one situations, and he predicted he will become one of the 20 best players in the world in the future. Profiling the player for The Athletic, Ahmed Walid says: "Whether it’s in tight spaces or in transition, Doku's ability to dribble past defenders makes them look as if they are defending at normal speed and that he is in fast forward".
Doku has been commended for his work ethic and eagerness to learn. One of his youth coaches at Anderlecht told him that if he wants to play for a big club, he has to do more than dribbling, to which Doku responded by working on his passing and assist making. Former Rennes coach Julien Stéphan stated that he's was immediately charmed by Doku’s positive attitude, but that the player struggled mentally because of his lack of goalscoring.
Both teammates and opponents have singled out Doku for his talent. Kevin De Bruyne called Doku "a diamond in the rough" after the forward's debut for the Belgium national team in 2020. In an interview for Belgian media outlet Eleven in 2023, Rennes and Belgium defender Arthur Theate stated that “it’s impossible to defend against Jérémy Doku”. In 2021, PSG star Kylian Mbappé said “recently, I was speaking with my father about a player who impressed me because of his speed, and that is Doku at Rennes”, adding that “in five years as a professional, I have never seen someone demonstrate so much power from a standing start."
Doubts have been raised about Doku's ability to stay fit, after an injury plagued season in 2021–22, where he suffered several muscular and knee injuries. The problems caused mental struggles for the teenager, as he kept coming back from injuries, getting some playing time, and then getting injured again. However, Doku stated at the end of the 2022-23 season that after playing in several matches in a row over the final stretch, his mind now feels free from injuries, and when he is on the pitch he is “playing as if he is outside with friends”.
Personal life
Doku was born in Antwerp, Belgium and is of Ghanaian descent. He is the second child of parents David and Belinda and has one older brother and two younger sisters. His father David is a former athlete, while his brother Jefferson was a part of Anderlecht's youth academy.
Career statistics
Club
International
Scores and results list Belgium's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Doku goal.
References
External links
UEFA Youth League Profile
Living people
2002 births
Footballers from Antwerp
Men's association football forwards
Belgian men's footballers
Belgium men's international footballers
Belgium men's under-21 international footballers
Belgium men's youth international footballers
Black Belgian sportspeople
Belgian people of Ghanaian descent
R.S.C. Anderlecht players
Belgian Pro League players
Stade Rennais F.C. players
Manchester City F.C. players
Ligue 1 players
Premier League players
UEFA Euro 2020 players
2022 FIFA World Cup players
Belgian expatriate men's footballers
Expatriate men's footballers in France
Expatriate men's footballers in England
Belgian expatriate sportspeople in France
Belgian expatriate sportspeople in England