Guardiola surprised with rookie 65 million USD
"Man City signed a 5-year contract with Doku and determined to be patient," Guardiola said after the match. "To be honest, I didn't expect Doku to play like he did today. Against Fulham, Doku played lower and closer to Kyle Walker, and today he played higher. Of course, Doku still has a long process to learn. And we will always help him."
Doku was elected Best Player of the match at London Stadium on the evening of September 16. Before giving way to Sergio Gomez in the 90th minute, the Belgian winger touched the ball 64 times, passed 83% accurately with three key passes, crossed four times, successfully dribbled three times and finished. twice.
In the 36th minute, Doku blocked the foul ball, creating conditions for West Ham to counterattack and open the score with Ward-Prowse's close-range header. But it was the 21-year-old player who scored atonement at the beginning of the second half, with a slant from the left wing to the middle, "twisting" Vladimir Coufal's ribs and then cutting the inside of his right leg to bury the ball in the far corner, scoring his first goal in the shirt. Manchester City.
In the first half, Doku also had a breakthrough on the left wing and crossed smoothly, but Erling Haaland cushioned the goal slightly and was cleared by the West Ham midfielder before the goal line.
Doku played for the youth teams of KVC Olympic Deurne, Tubantia Borgerhout, Beerschot, Anderlecht before being promoted to the Anderlecht first team in 2018. He made a splash in the Rennes shirt in the 2020-2023 period, scoring 12 goals in 92 matches. Doku also has two goals in 16 matches for Belgium.
At the end of the 2023 summer market, Doku landed in Man City for a total fee of 65 million USD and a five-year contract. At that time, Guardiola returned to Barcelona to rest after back surgery and was absent from the wins over Sheffield 2-1 and Fulham 5-1 - Doku's debut match.
Guardiola saw Doku playing hesitantly and shyly in the first match against Fulham and encouraged him to show his qualities and take advantage of his strengths in one-on-one plays against West Ham. The Spanish coach praised his students for having an excellent match, being energetic, determined and showing quality in their moves.
Yesterday, after Doku equalized, Bernardo Silva and Haaland scored respectively to set the score 3-1, helping Man City stay at the top of the Premier League with 15 absolute points. Guardiola was proud when Man City beat a strong opponent and played low in the absence of Kevin De Bruyne, John Stones, Mateo Kovacic and Jack Grealish due to injury.
Meanwhile, Doku said: "Guardiola said I was a bit shy in the last match, but not today, and I agree. Today, I showed more of my ability, and the goal was an important moment." with me and my family. I really like confrontations like with Coufal, Guardiola knows I'm good in one-on-one situations. Hopefully we can win many matches, and I will score more goals."
In the next two matches, Man City will return to the Etipad home field to host Red Star Belgrad on September 20 in the Champions League group stage, then meet Nottingham Forest in round 6 of the Premier League three days later.
