There are a lot of top young players on the books at Manchester City at the moment – and Thomas Meunier has picked one out for very high praise indeed.
Pep Guardiola has assembled a squad that could be competing right at the very top for years to come.
The likes of Phil Foden, Erling Haaland, Josko Gvardiol, Matheus Nunes and Oscar Bobb are all years away from their peaks, as is Jeremy Doku.
Doku signed last summer from Rennes in a £55 million transfer deal and got off to a very promising start.
But the winger suffered an injury in December, which rather halted his momentum.
He has struggled a little for consistency recently, but in the eyes of his Belgium teammate Thomas Meunier, City are genuinely sitting on a gem…
Thomas Meunier lauds Man City star and his international teammate Jeremy Doku
Doku can be fairly pleased with the way he has started his career at City.
In the first few months, he was genuinely one of City’s best performers, as he played with freedom and confidence.
But since coming back from his injury, Doku has found the going tough at times, although he was very good in City’s last game before the latest international break against Newcastle United in the FA Cup.
It is important to remember he is still only 21 years old and learning a new league, but Meunier feels he is going to become a serious player.
He said (as quoted by the Mirror): “Doku has so much talent – and so much self-confidence too. He has not reached the level of Neymar yet. Neymar is the only player who could make me wince on the pitch. I don’t get a headache playing against Doku. Well, not yet! But I really don’t rule it out that he will reach that level one day.”
Belgium, of course, will be playing against England on Tuesday in a friendly match, and it will be a chance for Doku to catch the eye.
He is unlikely to come up against Kyle Walker though, with the City captain limping out of Saturday’s 1-0 defeat to Brazil early in the first-half.
Doku needs time to refine his game
There is no doubt that Doku is capable of inflicting serious damage on teams, but at the moment he is raw, which is to be expected.
The £55,000-a-week star’s game is all about being unpredictable, and sometimes you get the feeling that he himself doesn’t even know what he will do.
It is currently about harnessing his abilities and improving his decision-making. Those things will come in time.
He is about six or seven years away from his peak so patience will be required with him. But certainly, there are many reasons to be excited about Doku.
At the very least right now, he is a hugely entertaining player and ultimately that is what football is all about.