Manchester City are strongly considering moving for a winger who rejected Liverpool to fill the void left by Riyad Mahrez, and any transfer is likely to smash a club’s transfer record, per reports.
Mahrez joined Saudi Arabian side Al Ahli on July 19. Man City collected £30m from the deal – a sizeable sum for a player aged 32.
However, despite his advancing age, losing the Algerian is unquestionably a blow for Pep Guardiola and co.
Indeed, while Bernardo Silva has often got the nod against the toughest opponents on the right wing, it was Mahrez who racked up the most starts in general.
City have shown interest in Crystal Palace’s assist king, Michael Olise. So too have Chelsea, and according to the Telegraph, the Blues may soon have a free run at Olise.
That’s because Man City have reportedly fixed their gaze on Jeremy Doku instead. A move for the the Belgium international, 21, is being ‘strongly considered’.
Doku plies his trade at club level for Ligue 1 side Rennes and returned a career-best seven goals across all competitions last season.
Doku is also known to new Man City ace Kevin De Bruyne through their time on the international scene with Belgium.
City are yet to table an offer for Doku, though if they do, it’s anticipated he’ll generate a club-record fee for Rennes.
Their current highest sale remains the £35m West Ham paid to sign centre-back Nayef Aguerd last summer. The Telegraph state Doku is likely to command a fee in the region of £43m-£52m if moving this summer.
Doku is right-footed and as such, would not be the most natural of successors to the left-footed Mahrez.
However, going against the trend of inverted wingers in modern football, Doku does primarily feature on the right flank.
Man City could do what Liverpool couldn’t
Doku had been installed as Aston Villa’s back-up plan if Unai Emery’s side were unable to land Moussa Diaby. However, once Villa fended off stiff competition for Diaby from Al Nassr, their interest in Doku subsided.
Doku was once heavily pursued by Liverpool who per talkSPORT, was even viewed as the long-term successor to Sadio Mane by Jurgen Klopp. Indeed, the forward came close to signing for Liverpool way back in 2018.
Doku was on the books of Anderlecht at the time and visited Anfield when exploring his next move. However, the Belgian elected to join Rennes instead and has since gone on to become a regular starter.
Liverpool have kept tabs on Doku since the snub, though alternate moves for the likes of Harvey Elliott, Diogo Jota, Luis Diaz, Fabio Carvalho and Cody Gakpo have ensured they’ve never made a decisive move for Doku.
Fast forward to present day and with Mahrez gone, Guardiola may wind up doing with Klopp and Liverpool couldn’t.
