Jeremy Doku signs for Manchester City in £55 million deal from Rennes as Pep Guardiola adds elite dribbler

The talented Belgian adds a familiar dynamic to the City attack just with more proficiency

Manchester City have completed the signing of Jeremy Doku from Rennes. The 19-year-old joins the English and European champions in a £55 million deal, filling the gap in Pep Guardiola's squad left by the departure of Riyad Mahrez to Saudi Arabia last month.

Doku had long been linked with a string of Europe's biggest clubs, particularly those in the Premier League, but it is City who have won the race, pushing hard to secure his signature after opting for him as the top name on a shortlist that included Crystal Palace's Michael Olise.

Doku has signed a five-year contract at the Etihad Stadium and made clear on his announcement that he views himself as some way from the finished article. 

I am a young player with so much learning and improving to do," he said. "Working with Pep and his staff, and playing alongside these work-class players, will make me a much better player. I feel sure of that.

"Watching City last season was amazing. To win the Treble is the hardest thing in football and they did it. You cannot imagine how exciting it is to be joining this team.

"I cannot wait to get started. Hopefully I can make the fans happy."

For their money, City are getting one thing above all else. Doku is a player who loves to run at his opponents. More often than not, he blows by them. Across Europe's top five leagues last season, the Belgian international was the continent's leader in terms of take-ons attempted, averaging 11.84 per 90 minutes. Vinicius Junior was the only other player to clear 10.

Doku goes more at defenders than any other player in Europe's top five leagues.  Twenty3

It is one thing to run at opponents quite a lot, another to consistently get past them. Vinicius, for instance, has a success rate of 32.2 percent in his take-ons, Jack Grealish 39.5 percent. Doku, meanwhile, gets past his man 56.8 percent of the time. Among players who attempted more than 100 take-ons last season, that is the fourth-best mark. Volume dribblers are not supposed to be that good at getting past their man.

With these sort of statistics and the raw pace that he brings to City's squad, Doku profiles as something of a throw back to the days when Guardiola's teams had Leroy Sane and Raheem Sterling tearing down the flanks. It seems unlikely that the manager will change last season's tactical outlook for a player with only six Champions League appearances to his name but a splash of pace in the wide areas might have been one of the few missing ingredients in last season's treble winners. While the likes of Grealish and Bernardo Silva tend to deliver the pausa that Guardiola so cherishes, Doku would provide an altogether more explosive play style.

There will be questions over whether Doku, who has played more than 2,000 minutes only once in an early career that has been ravaged by injuries, can turn his explosive qualities into end product, though a return of 0.56 non-penalty goals and assists last season was nothing to be sniffed at. His new employers think that can get even better.

"In terms of raw attributes, he has everything a winger needs," said director of football Txiki Begiristain. "He has outstanding pace and he is exceptional in one-on-one situations. I honestly believe working with Pep and the technical staff here at City will see him develop into a world-class attacking talent."