Dutch football expert Arthur Renard analyses the development of Manchester City's new winger, Jeremy Doku.
Player analysis - Jeremy Doku (Man City)
It was spring 2018 when Chelsea and Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku visited the academy of his former club Anderlecht and talked to academy director Jean Kindermans about upcoming talents.
Since he had left in 2011, Lukaku had always taken an interest in his former club and their graduates from Neerpede, Anderlecht's famous youth centre. He watched youth matches – on one occasion he even went into the dressing-room to give a motivational speech to the Under-21s before a match. Such acts were priceless to the people working at the club, who have made it one of the pillars for talents considering to join Anderlecht.
When Lukaku sat down in Kindermans' office that spring day, he heard about Jeremy Doku, a skilful winger with blistering speed. But Lukaku was also told the club were having greater difficulties to sign up promising youngsters as they faced huge competition from clubs abroad, in Doku’s case, Liverpool.
Lukaku strongly felt Doku should stay at Anderlecht and told Kindermans, "Give me his number, I’ll call him up."
Lukaku's video message
The academy director had an even better idea. He suggested Lukaku record a video message for Doku, to make an even more lasting impression. Lukaku agreed, making a 90-second video in which he shared his feelings.
Kindermans remembers it well. “The gist of his message was that Anderlecht is a big club with a big academy and that it was good to stay and make his first steps here, gaining experience, playing first-team football and perhaps win some trophies before leaving for bigger leagues.”
Kindermans sent the video to Doku’s father and not long after the player signed his first professional contract. Later, Doku revealed he listened to Lukaku’s advice.
Nearly joining Liverpool
Still, it was not an easy decision, as Doku had visited Liverpool with his family.
“People from my neighbourhood advised me to go to Liverpool - I would probably never get another chance like that,” Doku later told Sport/Voetbalmagazine. “I saw it differently - if Liverpool showed an interest on my 15th [birthday], they would come back to me later if I would prove myself at the highest level.
“There was also interest from Arsenal and Ajax, and we also visited them. But I decided to stay with Anderlecht. The step abroad came too soon. Having fun and continuing to play football with my mates was paramount.”
Shortly after signing the deal, Doku showed why everyone inside – and outside – the club were so excited about him. On 29 July 2018, he played in front of a large crowd at Lotto Park, Anderlecht’s home stadium, and confirmed his status as highly rated winger.
Kindermans remembers it well. “Our fans knew he was a top talent, as they feel very attached to the academy," he says. “But that day there was a fan day organised in our stadium and the Under-18s played an exhibition match against Chelsea.”
The then 16-year-old was one of the star performers as he scored in a 3-1 victory.
“At his first move, you could feel the crowd being immediately excited as they noticed his huge potential,” adds Kindermans. “I remember he got the ball on the left wing and breezed past his opponent straightaway. The entire crowd got goosebumps. From that moment on, everyone knew who Jeremy Doku was.”
At Neerpede, they knew for a very long time who he was and what he was capable of.
Doku's early life
Doku was born in Antwerp to Ghanaian parents and grew up with his older brother Jefferson – who is now working as his agent – and two younger sisters Precious and Chelsea. He played on the streets from a very young age, developing his well-known dribble, which he has mastered to perfection in the years that followed. The move, sometimes even performed from a standing position, before bursting past opponents, has become his trademark and should get the Man City faithful excited straightaway.
After spending time at various local clubs, Anderlecht came calling at the age of 10.
“We have an extensive scouting system all over Belgium and when he was playing at Beerschot, our scouts labelled him as very special,” remembers Kindermans. “They mentioned he was very quick, dynamic and equipped with impressive dribbling skills. He came to Anderlecht quite soon afterwards, where he participated in some pre-season trials. There I realised, ‘Wow, that’s a special player indeed.’ And he has always remained so.”
The Anderlecht academy director, who will move to Royal Antwerp next summer, can clearly recall those early moments.
'Daring on the ball'
“He stood out for his daring on the ball and his speed, of course. He had the courage to constantly take on players.
"I remember very well how he would sometimes put his right foot on the ball when it was played to him, causing opponents to come nearby and challenge him, but then he would turn away in a matter of a second and dribble past everyone. That was his trademark.
"At first, we were actually in doubt whether we should discourage him from doing that, as we always emphasise that the player and ball have to be in constant motion. But pretty soon I felt, 'Let him do it. It’s a special feature of his game and gradually he will either continue refining it, or stop doing it if he feels so.' But he still has that special feature in his game.”
Doku's acceleration on the first few metres have always been very impressive. It will add a special ingredient to Man City’s game, as it will make them even more unpredictable.
Standing out on debut
When starting out at Anderlecht, Doku would be picked up for training by the club every day. “At the time we had a minibus system where we collected youth players all over Belgium,” explains Kindermans. “Doku would travel together with Yari Verschaeren, who was also highly regarded in the academy. Remarkably, both made their first-team debut in exactly the same match years later, in an away match at STVV in Sint Truiden.”
That day, 25 November 2018, Doku was still only 16. Kindermans remembers everything well, from the build-up to the game itself. “In the week prior to the match, manager Hein Vanhaezebrouck came to my office and asked me whether he could add Verschaeren and Doku to his first-team training. The match at Sint Truiden was on an artificial pitch and because our youth players are familiar with that surface, I told Vanhaezebrouck he could use them well.
“I remember watching them train with the first team and they both really impressed. I was standing next to youth coach Stephane Stassin and after a few minutes I told him, 'We won’t see them back in the academy.’ And, sure enough, we both had to hand them over for good.”
Anderlecht would lose the match 4-2 against STVV, but the youngsters caught the eye of many. “They both played very well, with Verschaeren starting the match and Doku coming on as a second-half substitute."
Kompany's role in Doku's development
The season after Doku’s debut, Vincent Kompany came in as coach, which helped Doku’s development.
“He has been lucky to come across Kompany pretty soon," says Kindermans. "Like Vanhaezebrouck, he doesn’t look at the age of players, just at quality. And you need that kind of luck in your career, that you work with coaches who have the courage to launch young talents.
“Vincent is like Romelu," says Kindermans. "Just after he was installed as first-team coach, he called me to discuss the Future Cup – a youth tournament at Ajax – as he had been analysing our Under-17 squad. I was like, 'Where does he find the time to be so well informed?'”
Impressive international debut
Once Doku had established himself in the first team, he kept impressing with his adventurous style. At the start of 2020/21, Doku was called up for the Belgian national team and would leave his mark by scoring the final goal in a 5-1 win against Iceland.
“It came after one of those classic moves, where he was cutting inside from the left and curling the ball in the far-right corner,” remembers Kindermans. “He immediately left his mark on the game.”
Doku was in the Euro 2020 squad and impressed in the quarter-final against Italy, making a name for himself on the world stage.
By that time he was in France, at Rennes, having left Anderlecht for a Belgian record fee.
Praise from Mbappe
Doku would continue his impressive development, even receiving praise from Kylian Mbappe. “Recently, I was speaking with my father about a player who impressed me because of his speed qualities, that is Doku, at Rennes,” Mbappe told France Football. “In five years as a professional, I have never seen someone from a standing start demonstrate so much power.”
But, there was concern as Doku was often out with injuries. Kindermans puts it down to physical overload.
“In the academy he was never really injured, but he made the transition to a professional set-up very young, meaning he was subjected to a higher training rate and at Rennes he was also playing European matches in midweek. So the amount of games which his body had to digest went up quickly and maybe as a consequence his musculature has suffered, also because of his very exceptional speed.”
Why he'll succeed at City
Apart from physical challenges, Kindermans feels Doku has what it takes to succeed in the Premier League. “His starting speed, 1v1 ability and his courage to take on players in every position makes him very special. He is at his best on the wings, on the No 7 or 11.”
He hopes Doku will get a licence to roam and be allowed to play by the rhythm of his heart, something he thinks will be the case under Pep Guardiola. “I read an article by his assistant Juanma Lillo quite recently, who indicated there is a lot of focus on creativity and the one against one, instead of pre-ordinated tasks.”
See: Lillo on Doku's impact at Man City
Where he can improve
If there is one element to improve in his game, it will be to increase his efficiency.
“Wingers have to score, give assists and also create pre-assists.” But the Anderlecht academy director thinks his successful dribbling rate gives him an extra advantage at an attacking-minded team like Man City, which offers him the ideal surrounding to further polish his game.
“To create even more goal contributions will be the next step for Jeremy in an environment where there is a lot of competition and where he will be guided by top coaches.
"It’s such a big opportunity to work with Guardiola. It will be really good for his development; I only see positive things.”
Arthur Renard is a Dutch journalist specialising in European football. https://arthurrenard.com/