Jeremy Doku wants to be a key man for Manchester City this season and knows he must improve his end product to achieve that goal.
The 22-year-old Belgian 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, who was barely fit to play after a setback of his own, helped ensure Doku was handed a starting place for the opening game of City’s title defence at Chelsea.
Goals from Erling Haaland and Mateo Kovacic secured a 2-0 win for Pep Guardiola’s side and Doku was ever-present at Stamford Bridge.
However, a pair of wasted crosses, a misjudged final pass on the counter-attack and a wild shot on target in the first half undermined a brilliant dribbling performance. Doku completed six shots, more than any other player in Europe’s top five leagues over the weekend.
“I know I haven’t reached my full potential and there’s still a long way to go with a lot of improvement,” he said after the match.
“I look at each match to see what I can improve. I am happy with the performance, but I still think I can do better with the last pass.”
“I’m going to watch this game again and see what I can improve for the next one. I want to have a big impact and an important role in this team. I want to perform at my best every time I get the chance to be on the pitch, be decisive and score goals and give assists.”
First game, first win! This is just the beginning, let’s keep it up ?? photo.twitter.com/9YPQu5GUb0
— Jeremy Doku (@JeremyDoku) August 19, 2024
Three goals and 10 assists in 29 Premier League appearances last season are figures Doku will be looking to improve on and the prospect of him joining a new partner in crime is a tantalising one.
Savinho was impressive on his City debut but was forced off at half-time as a precaution due to knee discomfort. After the match, Guardiola attributed the decision to switch Doku and Savinho to the left and right flanks respectively midway through the first half to the players themselves. Chelsea full-backs Malo Gusto and Marc Cucurella had a torrid period.
“As a dribbler, I like players to take on their opponent. Savinho is a player who does that and takes a lot of risks,” Doku said.
“I remember my first game [against Fulham in September 2023]I was very stressed, so when I came in and started my first game against Chelsea and put in that kind of performance… hats off to him.
“I respect that a lot and I think he still has a lot to give. We are very happy to have him with us.”
