Jeremy Doku wants to be a key man for Manchester City this season and knows he must improve his end product to reach that goal.
The 22-year-old Belgium winger caught the eye after joining the Premier League champions for £55 million (€65m/$71.4m) from French club Rennes last August.
A serious injury to Oscar Bobb and Jack Grealish being short of match fitness after a setback of his own contributed to Doku being handed a starting berth for City’s opening match of their title defence at Chelsea.
Goals from Erling Haaland and Mateo Kovacic secured a 2-0 victory for Pep Guardiola’s side and Doku was to the fore throughout the Stamford Bridge encounter.
MORE: Erling Haaland leads Man City to victory at Chelsea
However, a couple of wasteful crosses, a misjudged final passes on the counter-attack and a wild first-half shot at goal undermined a bravura dribbling performance. Doku six completed take-ons were more than any player across Europe’s top five leagues over the weekend.
"I know I have not reached my full potential and there is still a long way to go with a lot of improvement,” he said after the match
“I watch game-by-game to see what I can improve. I’m happy with the performance but I still think I can do better with the final pass.
“I’m going to watch this game back and see what I can improve for the next game. I want to play a big impact and big role in this team. I want to perform every time I get the chance to be on the pitch, to be decisive and get some goals and assists.”
First game, first W! This is just the start, let’s keep it going 💪🏾 pic.twitter.com/9YPQu5GUb0
— Jeremy Doku (@JeremyDoku) August 19, 2024
Three goals and 10 assists in 29 Premier League appearances last term are the marks Doku will look to improve upon and the prospect of him teaming up with a new partner in crime is tantalising.
Savinho dazzled on his City debut before being withdrawn at halftime as a precaution due to knee soreness. After the match, Guardiola credited the decision to switch Doku and Savinho to the left and right wings respectively midway through the first haldf to the players themselves. A torrid period duly unfolded for Chelsea fullbacks Malo Gusto and Marc Cucurella.
“As a dribbler, I like it when players take on their man. Savinho is a player that does that and takes a lot of risks,” Doku said.
“I remember my first game [against Fulham in September 2023]. I was stressed a lot so coming in and starting your first game against Chelsea and putting in that sort of performance… congratulations to him.
“I respect that a lot and I think there is still more to come from him. We’re very happy to have him with us.”
