During his career, Jeremy Doku has played mostly as a right winger but that hasn’t become his preferred position. Proven adept on both sides, he brings a different dynamic to his game depending on which one he starts at. Stade Rennais saw him cement his place as a right winger but his scouting reports from youth football had him penciled as a left winger. With City that is the case.

With the form of players in the team, the clamor for Foden to play centrally and Jack Grealish a mainstay at left wing, the question becomes what about playing Doku on the right wing instead?

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Why Left Is Best for Jeremy Doku

It’s a fair question to ask given he is comfortable on both feet and City have options at left wing with Grealish but the use of his skill set at left wing will prove to be the better fit for this current City team. Before that, let’s look at his beginning.

Early Beginning

Doku began playing football at a young age in Antwerp for a few clubs before he reached Anderlecht in 2012 at 10 years old. Progressing through the club to make his professional debut in 2018 at 16 years of age. He didn’t nail down a specific wing rather he swapped between the left (10 games) and right (16 games). Once he reached the third season in the Belgian Pro League he was playing a majority of his games on the left. Starting five LW and 2 RW before getting a move to Ligue 1. I’ve included his heat map from that season below, which will become a familiar pattern, showing how he operates on the left and is able to carry the ball all up that side and into the opposition penalty box.

In Ligue 1 it switched up just as the left wing was becoming a regular position in Belgian, in France it required him on the right. Here is his heatmap for the first season at Stade Rennais in Ligue 1, starting 26 games. Most of them spent playing on the right, handful on the left. Consistently able to carry the ball past his full back and get into the opposition box, a pattern we are familiar with at City and have seen at Anderlecht.

At Stade Rennais Doku played 52 total games at right wing, being able to take the ball onto his preferred right foot for firing low crosses into the box or cut inside to make incisive passes. Development seemed to be back on a steady path, until injuries came up.

He never started more than 15 games in the following two seasons with the club. Starting 4 in the 2021/22 season and then 14 in the 22/23 season. Through his career Doku has missed 59 total games due to injury, which have come during a crucial point in his development. Without them, he could have had 3 full seasons under his belt in Ligue 1 and come into City a lot more polished.

Certainly comfortable on both feet both the right is the one for shooting and crossing at his best. Depending on the side he plays, it shifts how those tools are used. At Stade Rennais he would be cutting inside as a primarily a passing option rather than to shoot. That said, his goal scoring record is split with 8 left foot shots and 12 with his right. Adept with both but still right foot is best. If he is on the left, the cross to the back post when he cuts inside is available as well as a shot. A point we will come back to later.

First Season at City

Jeremy Doku has started most of his games for Manchester City at left wing, with a couple of games tried out on the right. If you look at his heatmap included below, there is no worry that his ability translates to both sides, to consistently carry the ball into the opposition box by beating the full back. Just as he did in Ligue 1.

Which full back has been alongside him has shifted a fair bit through the season between Gvardiol and Ake at LB. Both offering different skills and being two new relationships to build. To get timings right for pressing and recovering the ball out of possession. Without Gundogan, City have tried a few different players in the left eight slot, again another player for Doku to work with as he fits into the system.

That’s what Pep Guardiola had to say on the situation in November, so he already had his mind made up for this season with Doku. Left is best. Why exactly that makes sense we shall break down. 👇

Why Left Wing

1) Our other options at right wing are too valuable to displace. In Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden, that side is already locked down and better suited to them both coming inside to their left foot.

2) You already have one of the best crossing threats in the world with Kevin De Bruyne on the right wing, why take away opportunities from him by putting Doku there and leave no crossing threat on the left?

With them both in the team you get crosses coming from Doku cutting onto his right, putting balls to the back post and KDB on the right side whipping balls onto Haalands left foot.

3) Offering the squad a rotation option with Jack Grealish of that level of quality is much more valuable then keeping him behind Bernardo and Foden on the right. To have Grealish play the R16 Champions League game midweek then bring in Doku for the Premier League game at the weekend is huge. To do that well, he needs consistent minutes to get use to the position.

4) The passing ability of Doku when he drifts inside is much better with his right foot, to make long cross field passes on the break like he does with the Bernardo Silva goal linked below. You won’t see that from him on the right wing.

5) Jeremy Doku has the ability to cut inside and shoot on the edge of the box that he hasn’t quite unlocked yet. But it is coming. On the left wing is where he can utilize that weapon and it’s something you will see more of as he develops.

Building relationships in the team takes time, you see that with how well Bernardo and Grealish work together and not everyone hits the ground running like Haaland did with De Bruyne.

Jeremy Doku is building those relationships as we speak, through his first season at the club and will only fit in better with the team over time. Explains why you get the impression that Haaland struggles to work out his timing just as Theo Walcott pointed out.

Final point is to go back to is his injuries and his age, it means a lot of development is ahead of him and it's not like a winger arriving at City always hits the ground running. Just look at at our other left winger. As we outlined above, his career has been stop start because of those injuries and slowed down his development. Nailing down a position.

He has a lot of tools, some you haven't seen yet but are coming. Shooting is one of those!

If you want some more content on Jeremy Doku, check out this thread we put together on his potential. 👇

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