Pep Guardiola was taken aback by Riyad Mahrez’s departure to Saudi Al Ahli this year. 

The Spanish expert did not expect to be left without the only classic right winger in the team, and Manchester City has just made bringing in a player who will fill the hole created by the departure of the Algerian one of the summer priorities.

For a few weeks now, Citizens have been looking for Mahrez’s replacement. Michael Olise, a young Frenchman born in England, appeared as a solution, but the 21-year-old fell out of the competition when he signed a new contract with Crystal Palace a few days ago.

At the same time, Jeremy Doku was on City’s radar, and now the Premier League champion has started making concrete moves.

This morning, well-known papers in England and France reported that the English team had agreed on terms of cooperation with Doku himself. Not long after, Fabrizio Romano revealed that City are processing Rennes with a sum of between 55,000,000 and 60,000,000 euros.

It’s a huge amount of money, especially considering that 21-year-old Doku has yet to explode in League 1. He arrived three years ago from Anderlecht for 26,000,000 and delivered 12 goals and ten assists in 92 appearances for the club.

Regarding league matches only, he played 75 of them with ten goals and seven assists, noting that during the season before last, he had two slightly more serious calf and back injuries. Quality is de facto there, as well as room for improvement, but the question is, is Doku worth that much money?

The situation in City’s playing staff is such that Bernardo Silva and Cole Palmer can play on the right side of the field, albeit not as classic wings. The Portuguese are currently injured, and the future of the promising Englishman at the Etihad is questionable.

Although Palmer was City’s best individual in the recent European Super Cup against Sevilla, Pep Guardiola recently told him that his place would mostly be on the bench, which, as we wrote earlier, could benefit Borussia Dortmund, who want him in their ranks.

Doku grew up at the Berrschot football school. In 2012 he became part of Anderlecht’s academy as a ten-year-old, and he made his debut for the A national team of Belgium in September 2020. Since then, he has made 14 appearances with two goals and three assists.