Jérémy Doku, the man who needs to hand Belgium its first European title

Belgian star
Born in Borgerhout
Beerschot AC
Next stop: RSC Anderlecht
Super talent
Debut
16 years and 340 days
37 matches
Stade Rennes
€26 million
Injuries
Red Devils
Strong season ending
€65 million
92 matches
Presented with great pride
Number 11
Belgian star

Jérémy Doku is looking to excel with Belgium at Euro 2024 and lead his country to its first-ever major trophy. Let's take a look at the career of one of Belgium's biggest stars.

Born in Borgerhout

Born in Borgerhout, Antwerp, on May 27, 2002, Doku began his football career at Tubantia Borgerhout youth academy.

 

Beerschot AC

Doku's talent was soon noticed by Beerschot AC, where he would play as of 2009.

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Next stop: RSC Anderlecht

The Belgian elite, however, were beckoning for Doku, who went on to play for RSC Anderlecht in 2012.

Super talent

The winger was known as a super talent in Anderlecht's academy, which he also showed with Belgium's national youth teams.

Debut

Consequently, it didn't take long for Doku to get a chance in Anderlecht's first team. He made his debut for the Brussels club on November 25, 2018, in a match against Sint-Truiden.

16 years and 340 days

At the time, Doku was only 16 years and 340 days old.

37 matches

Doku left a mark with his speed and dribbling skills during his time at Anderlecht. He made 37 appearances, scoring 6 goals and providing 7 assists.

Stade Rennes

Foreign clubs soon started knocking on his door, and it was eventually France's Stade Rennes that snatched Doku away from the Belgian capital.

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€26 million

The move involved a transfer sum of a whopping €26 million (£21.98m/$27.86m), making Anderlecht's most expensive outgoing transfer ever!

Injuries

In France, Doku struggled with several injuries, which initially allowed the player to show his exceptional qualities only sporadically.

Red Devils

Doku, was also a familiar face in Belgium's national team. He displayed great football at Euro 2021, dominating Italy in the quarterfinals.

Strong season ending

After that, Doku also excelled at Rennes. He finished the 2022/23 season in fantastic fashion and continued that streak into the beginning of 2023/24.

€65 million

In the summer of 2023, Manchester City came knocking. The Citizens quickly sat down with Rennes and both parties eventually reached an agreement on a transfer fee of a staggering €65 million, including bonuses (£54.96/$69.65m).

92 matches

Doku ended up playing 92 games for Rennes, in which he scored 12 goals and provided 10 assists.

Presented with great pride

City proudly presented Doku on the club's social media channels, and the player too was looking forward to his adventure in Manchester.

Picture credit: screenshot, X, @ManCity

"Premier League is made and built for me"

"I always knew that the Premier League was made and built for me," Doku shared during his first interview.

Picture credit: screenshot, X, @ManCity

"A lot of confidence in myself"

"I played in Belgium, I played in France and I think that those were the right steps to prepare me for the Premier League. I can tell you now that I'm ready, but I will have to see. But I'm really confident. I have a lot of confidence in myself. So I think, with the help of the coaches and staff and the team, we'll be going good," he sounded self-assured.

Picture credit: screenshot, X, @ManCity

Number 11

Doku in the 11 jersey appeared to be a masterstroke for the uber-successful Premier League club, creating absolute havoc on the left wing in his short time there. Will he go down in the history books?

Picture credit: screenshot, X, @ManCity

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