Jeremy Doku is a name who has been linked with Liverpool recently, and whilst there is “nothing concrete” as of yet, there is a lot of interest for his signature, with the upcoming World Cup sure to boost his status.
That is according to the ever-reliable Fabrizio Romano, who has stated that the young Belgian is a player to watch from a Liverpool perspective, despite the Reds not having any concrete exchanges as of yet.
What’s the word?
Taking to his exclusive Substack column with Caught Offside, Romano said: “I’ve seen some speculation linking Liverpool with Jeremy Doku, but I’m afraid my understanding is that there is nothing concrete going on there.
“For now, there is nothing advanced with any club yet. For sure there’s lot of interest in Jeremy Doku, he’s considered an amazing talent but I think the World Cup can also help to push Doku on the international stage as happened last time with Belgium.
“He’s a player to watch, for sure, but there’s nothing going on with Liverpool or any other club just yet.”
Exciting young talent
Quite simply, Doku is a raw talent that is still waiting to be nurtured.
The 20-year-old arguably made the switch from Anderlecht to Rennes a little too early, and could have majorly benefitted from increased minutes in Belgium.
Now in his third season in France, Doku has seen his game-time consistently dwindle, along with his attacking returns, with end product and an unenviable injury record the main factors which are crying out for improvement.
However, it is easy to forget that the Belgian is still only 20, despite being just one appearance short of reaching 100 at senior club level.
That ample experience for such a young player will surely appeal to Jurgen Klopp, in addition to Doku’s rapid and energetic style in possession, which Gary Lineker claimed left him “dizzy” with excitement.
Doku averages 2.96 tackles per game, with his 22.18 pressures at a 37.5% successful pressure percentage placing him among the market leaders for these traits among positional peers in Europe’s top five leagues over the past 12 months.
Also impressive is his average of 5.73 shot-creating actions per game, a sign that he is proactive in attack, with his 15.34 progressive carries again placing him in the top 1% in comparison to positionally similar players in Europe’s major leagues over the last year.
Doku’s talent is raw, but there are some very promising metrics in his locker, despite playing only 152 minutes in Ligue 1 so far this season after an injury-ravaged 12 months.
