Pep Guardiola baffles with Jeremy Doku call after Jack Grealish exit
Pep Guardiola has left observers stunned about Jeremy Doku after Jack Grealish left Man City to join Everton on a season-long loan.
An affair which raged on for much of the summer, the Toffees have finally got their man.
Despite Grealish’s enormous wages, David Moyes has taken him under his wing as he looks to bring the best out of him similar to what he did with Jesse Lingard at West Ham.
Dejected and cast out of the City starting squad, the Englishman can now focus on his own game to book himself a spot on the plane to the World Cup in 2026.
For Guardiola, his squad has been trimmed as he is left with Tottenham target Savinho and Belgian Doku to play primarily on the flanks, but the Catalan’s preference for the latter over the departed Grealish has caused confusion.
Doku not an ‘upgrade’ on Grealish for Man City
Discussing Grealish’s exit on talkSPORT (11 August), Adrian Durham and ex-Tottenham striker Darren Bent were discussing whether the Englishman genuinely was playing at a “top level”.
The former Aston Villa forward asked Durham about the Belgian winger compared to the Villa academy graduate, saying: “Would you say…Jeremy Doku is an upgrade on him [Grealish].”
The presenter replied: “Yeah, I think there’s more end product.”
To which Bent swiftly countered: “See, I think he’s good, Jeremy Doku, but, I don’t look at him and go wow, I can understand why they’ve got rid of Jack [Grealish] because there’s still times Doku can go past someone and you’re thinking ‘it’s the final cross or the final finish’ and it’s not quite there.”
Pep Guardiola to confront his decision to sign Doku
Football Insider verdict
Since joining the Cityzens in August 2023 for an eye-watering £51.9million (Sofascore), the former Anderlecht youth prodigy has been very inconsistent.
The speedster has only managed to score a maximum of six goals in two seasons at the Etihad, alluding to Bent’s point of a lack of a final product.
The Belgium international has consistently frustrated City fans with his inefficiency to find the final ball and, on occasions, trying to beat his man again rather than utilising the space afforded to him.
| Jeremy Doku 2024-25 all competitions | |
| Appearances | 38 |
| Minutes played | 2,006 |
| Goals | 6 |
| Assists | 9 |
The 23-year-old, like Grealish, arrived for a hefty price, an aspect that has been hard to live up to.
However, with the Englishman’s temporary exit, the ex-Rennes man will have nowhere to hide next season as he has little competition on the flanks.
This will force Guardiola to face up to a transfer which hasn’t paid off yet, as he tries to turn the pacy winger into a force to be reckoned with.
Grealish could make a mockery of his exit by going up the gears with Everton next campaign, only time will tell if the Spanish manager was wrong in his decision.