Jeremy Doku has completely silenced haters amid impressive Premier League reveal
Pep Guardiola will be quietly grinning from ear to ear over Jeremy Doku and the Man City winger’s development.
Doku is currently sidelined with an injury, picking one up against Galatasaray after several big challenges on him in recent weeks, and being replaced by new signing Antoine Semenyo.
With five goals and two assists in his first nine appearances, the Citizens have certainly not felt the injury blow as deeply as they could have done, but he has still been sorely missed on the left flank.
Many Premier League fans up and down the country have been extremely critical of Doku and his playing style, accusing the Belgian international of failing to create, just looking nice on the pitch.
Jeremy Doku continues to shut out outside noise at Man City
In his first few games, you could certainly argue that case, but with six goals and nine assists in each of his first two seasons at the club, he continued to block the outside noise and push to be better.
While his numbers are currently lower this term, there is still plenty of time for the winger to grab more goal contributions, with Man City still competing in four different competitions.
Of course, Guardiola will be waiting patiently for him to return from the treatment room, with the hope that he can add to his five goals and eight assists in the search for more silverware.
Some still try to argue that Doku is nothing more than a one-trick pony, using his pace to run towards the line before delivering a mediocre cross into the penalty area, one that is snuffed out easily.
Only a few Premier League stars can better the exciting winger
However, Opta have quickly dispelled any suggestion that the Man City star doesn’t deliver when it matters, with their graph showing that Doku has the most attempted take-ons in the Premier League.
In addition to that, only a handful of other players, such as Hugo Ekitike, Leandro Trossard and Phil Foden, have had a higher percentage of take-ons leading to shots and chances created.
That number is only likely to increase as he goes from strength to strength under Guardiola. Rival fans can say what they like about Doku, but those at the Etihad Stadium know the truth.
He is one of the most integral parts of Guardiola’s plans and will be for the next few seasons.