The Belgian winger gets fans off their feet and can tear apart a shaky Manchester United defence at Old Trafford
James Milner didn't know what had hit him. He was up against a man 16 years his junior and, to put it mildly, he got rinsed. Jeremy Doku repeatedly tore his way past the 37-year-old in a torturous first half for Brighton and a wonderful opening 45 minutes for Manchester City.
Doku handed Julian Alvarez the opening goal on a plate and could have found the net once or twice if his shooting had been ever so slightly sharper. Every time he got on the ball, City fans sensed something was about to happen. They were enthralled by his every move.
The Belgian is the type of player fans want to see when they go to matches, the type of player that gets you out of your seat and justifies the ticket price. He is also the type of player who can prise open tight defences and win a match in one flash of brilliance.
In other words, he is exactly the type of player who should be starting Sunday's derby against Manchester United. And if that means a place on the bench for Jack Grealish, then so be it…
Getty ImagesNo adaptation process needed
Lots of players need a bedding-in period at City before coming good. Grealish had a pretty disappointing first campaign before understanding what Pep Guardiola wanted from him and putting it into action in his second season. Nathan Ake was a bench-warmer for his first two campaigns before turning into a steely defender.
But Doku has adapted straight away and made an instant impression following his €65 million (£56m/$68m) move from Rennes in August after being signed as a replacement for Saudi Arabia-bound Riyad Mahrez.
After a quietish debut against Fulham, the Belgian produced a stunning performance at West Ham. He ravaged Vladimir Coufal all game, scoring a wonderful goal to pull City level in an eventual 3-1 win, bursting down the left wing, twisting his way inside and finding the far bottom corner.
In a lively first-half display he crafted a glorious opportunity for Erling Haaland, which the Norwegian somehow managed to waste.
AdvertisementGettyBlistering pace
Despite that breakthrough match, Doku was then used sparingly by Guardiola. He started on the bench against Red Star Belgrade but had to come on before half-time due to the injury to Bernardo Silva, while he was sacrificed early in the second half against Nottingham Forest after Rodri was sent off.
He was a substitute against Newcastle in the Carabao Cup although given Guardiola fielded a second-string team, maybe that was a compliment. He started the next game at Wolves and was one of City's best players in their shock 2-1 defeat.
He was only given 18 minutes against RB Leipzig but swung the game around in City's favour, coming on when the game was tied at 1-1, setting up Alvarez's goal and then combining with the Argentine to score on the counterattack and seal the 3-1 win, showing his blistering pace and producing a composed finish.
In 10 appearances and only six starts, Doku has two goals and two assists – a solid return for a young player still feeling his way into the best team in Europe.
GettyAn antidote to modern footballers
Part of the reason why Doku has been such a revelation at City is that he offers something completely different to his team-mates. Most City players have been shaped by academies, where youngsters are coached so thoroughly and moulded into identikit players.
City assistant coach Juanma Lillo, writing in during last year's World Cup, decried the homogenous nature of modern footballers, which he admitted to be partly responsible for. "Everything is globalised now. At club level, if you go to a training session in Norway and one in South Africa, they’ll be the same," he wrote.
"'Look inside to find spaces outside’, ‘pass here, pass there’. The good dribblers are over, my friend. Where can you find them? I can’t see any. We don’t even realise the mess we’ve made."
Getty Honing his skills on the street
Doku, however, is a breath of fresh air. He is a thrilling dribbler, unpredictable and a nightmare to defend against. While he joined the academy of Anderlecht aged 10, he supplemented his education with plenty of games on the streets, which explains his wild style.
"I learned to dribble on my own," he told Man City's official magazine. "I was always outside, playing with a football practising but nowadays, you see kids do that less and less and you don’t see as many kids playing on the street with a ball any more.
"They maybe play, but in their home or garden and I don’t think that’s good because I learned on the street against other kids. Street football was where I honed my skills."