Chelsea suddenly entered the race to sign Jeremy Doku from Rennes over the weekend, but he’s now set to complete a move to Premier League rivals Manchester City.
That is according to a report from The Athletic.
They claim that Man City have negotiated a €65million (£56million) transfer with French top-flight club Rennes to sign Jeremy Doku.
It is understood that they did face some late competition for the 21-year-old’s signature, though.
The report says that City feared missing out on the Belgium international after Chelsea and Tottenham joined the race for him a few days ago, which led to Rennes bumping up the asking price.
However, Doku was fully committed to the Etihad Stadium after agreeing personal terms with Pep Guardiola’s side and will soon be a City star.
Former Belgium international Philippe Albert recently told RTBF that Doku has similarities with Chelsea great Eden Hazard.
Albert said: “If he is physically at 100 per cent, he will make his mark and scare the opponents. He’s a bit like Eden Hazard at the beginning of his career, with double and triple gears that can really hurt (defenders).”
Hazard, who’s currently a free agent, was ripping apart Ligue 1 in the early stages of his career before he became a household name at Chelsea. Doku will be something special if he can match half of Hazard’s greatness.
So, should Chelsea have thrown their name into the hat a lot sooner for Doku?
He’s clearly a supremely talented individual given City want him, with his speed and dribbling a big plus point in his game.
We expect the rapid winger, who scored seven goals and made four assists last season for Rennes, to develop into a top wide player in the years ahead.
He’s now going to be learning from one of the all-time great coaches in Guardiola.
For Chelsea, Doku fits the profile of being a young emerging talent with ridiculous potential. We would prefer Chelsea to try bring in the finished article before the transfer window shuts, though.
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