How Doku became key player for treble-chasing Man City

When recently asked if Jeremy Doku could reach the levels of Vinicius Jr and Lamine Yamal, Pep Guardiola was in no doubt.

"Yeah, for sure," said the Manchester City boss. "And always accept being pushed. Always accept that. And that is so nice. We are really pleased. Now he is winning games. But he has always been really, really good."

Doku has evolved as a player and is beginning to realise his immense promise at City after nearly three years with the club.

Still just 23, the Belgium winger was signed from Rennes for £55.4m in August 2023, with City aware of his high potential.

His pace and dribbling quality have always been best in class - underpinning a unique profile in the modern game.

Speaking to The Athletic, Shaun Maloney, one of Doku's former coaches with Belgium, said the winger's quality immediately stood out at youth level.

"What you see now in terms of one-v-one dribbling was exactly him then. He was taking it in his own half and dribbling 70 and 80 yards," Maloney said.

A few years later, during Doku's first year playing for Rennes, Kylian Mbappe and his father sat in the stands watching on in awe.

"I was speaking with my father about a player I had noticed from the stands because of his pace," said Mbappe.

"The player was Doku at Rennes. In my five years as a pro, I had never seen someone with so much explosivity in his first steps."

With specific standout qualities, players can forge strong careers, but becoming the star of an elite side comes from pulling together those qualities in a complete manner - something Doku has now started to do.

Saturday will see him hoping to help secure Man City a second trophy of the campaign, when they face Chelsea in the FA Cup final at Wembley.

When talking about Doku, Guardiola is quick to stress the importance of standards off the pitch.

He said: "Everybody knows that he's made an incredible step in the sense of saying, 'I am Jeremy Doku, I am going to win games.' The greatest players always have that mentality.

"It [all] depends on mentality. [He has to say] I want to become one of the best in the world, otherwise you're in a comfort zone. That is how you reach that [next] level."

And for as much as Doku has improved on the pitch, he has shown that level of self-reflection, accountability and focus off it too.

Doku has spent time working with Gabriel Deieno, a mental performance coach who works with elite athletes.

And after a particularly impressive performance against Liverpool, Doku credited his deepening faith in God for his success.

Across this season, Guardiola has trusted Doku in a number of roles. Irrespective of what he has asked from him, what has remained constant has been how much responsibility the City boss has given his winger.

With the increase in man-to-man defending in the Premier League this season, the strength and dribbling quality of Doku has allowed him to get the better of the opposing defenders even if teams double or triple up on him.

This changing tactical landscape has therefore made him increasingly key to City.

In City's 3-0 win against Manchester United, Doku was asked to leave the touchline, moving into the centre of the pitch. This helped City overload United's midfield two with four of their own players.

With City's midfielders close to each other, Doku - receiving in-field - would turn and drive at the defence, attracting players towards him while freeing up space for Nico O'Reilly on the left flank.

And much of City's success this season can be put down to the on-field relationship of that left-sided duo.

For most of the campaign Doku has taken a more natural left-wing position, which has put opponents in a lose-lose situation.

By doubling up on Doku, teams have attempted to minimise his dribbling threat, in turn leaving space for O'Reilly to get into the box. This has led to the England full-back amassing 15 goal contributions in all competitions this season so far.

When teams have instead focused on O'Reilly's central attacking position, Doku has then relished the chance to dribble past a single defender before dangerously cutting the ball back to his team-mates.

When Doku joined City, part of the rationale was to utilise him on the right wing - a position he played at Rennes more often than he has in Manchester.

From here, instructions were simpler. He could beat his man on the outside with his speed and play crosses with his stronger right foot.

Perhaps a sign of trust in his total footballing ability, Doku's role on the left wing has evolved further this season into one that allows him to cut inside and play centrally - often on his own accord.

By rolling his defender and facing the opposition's goal when the game becomes stretched, he has added to his arsenal of assists by playing through balls to Erling Haaland running in behind.

Against more stubborn defences, Doku has shown an ability to cut inside and away from goal, increasing the distance from nearby defenders, before striking the ball into the far corner.

"When I look at all my goals this season, I don't see one tap-in," Doku says. And although this appears to be a good problem to have, the winger's thirst for self-improvement was clear.

"When I look at, for example, Sterling in his seasons here, all the tap-ins that he scored - at least five, six, seven a season.

"I want to score also those goals where I just tap-in, [back] post, run in and tap-in. That's really the thing that I need to work on."

The strengths that set Doku apart came fairly naturally. But hard work has improved his understanding of the game to best maximise that talent.

While he looks to add tap-ins to his attacking game next, he deserves credit for already having improved his defensive understanding this season.

Guardiola's City have opted to defend in a 4-2-4 formation out of possession, holding their shape before pressing in specific moments.

The two strikers are tasked with blocking passes into midfield - so it falls to the wingers in this system to take on the physically taxing job of pressing the opposition's centre-back while also blocking passes into the full-back.

Doku, alongside Antoine Semenyo, has done this well and was key in nullifying Arsenal's build-up in both the Carabao Cup and Premier League wins in recent weeks.

Doku's tenacious pressing has also resulted in him winning the ball back high up the pitch then scoring after turnovers in games against Chelsea and Brentford.

Whether City win the FA Cup or the league is yet to be seen, but to get this close in three competitions is in large part a testament to Doku's ability to carry the team in attack as Guardiola looked to find his best starting XI.

Despite having a personally impressive season, Doku is reluctant to rest on his laurels and Guardiola's comments read like a challenge aimed to keep the winger on that path.

"I think all season he's been really, really good, and the limit depends on him," said Guardiola.

"Players who want to be better will be better. Players who live all their life trying to be better and prepare the body and mindset to be better, will be better.

"It all depends on him."