Manchester City, Liverpool rivals are expected to sign Jeremy Doku as their third summer acquisition as Pep Guardiola looks to improve his treble-winning squad.
The Belgian will fill the void left by Riyad Mahrez, who joined Roberto Firmino at Saudi Pro League team Al Ahli earlier in this transfer window.
Doku is a name that Reds supporters ought to be familiar with considering recent rumors of a transfer to Anfield. Jurgen Klopp was said to have had a keen interest in making the acquisition as recently as June of this year.
However, City are thought to have outbid the rest of the competition to seal a £55 million agreement with Rennes for the 21-year-old.
According to Fabrizio Romano, medical examinations are now being conducted in the North West.
The winger’s career path saw him leave his native Belgium and childhood club Anderlecht for Ligue 1 in 2020 for a sum of £22.2 million.
According to Liverpool Echo, the Belgian club had given its prodigy permission to speak with potential suitors. Liverpool and Klopp were one two years before with a £500,000 deal on the table. So it is clear that this was a decision that had been long in the making.
Although Klopp may have club legend Sadio Mane to blame, despite his good intentions. A welcome procession when young Doku and his family attended did not exactly go as planned.
What Did Doku Say About His Non-Materialized Move To Liverpool?
“My 16th birthday was coming up, the age you can sign a pro contract. A lot of teams came to see me. Liverpool was the most concrete interest but there was also Arsenal and Chelsea,” Doku explained to Ouest-France after opting to join Rennes instead.
I talked a lot with Mane but we didn’t really talk about football. We talked about everything.
“He told me that I was young, that I still had time. He wasn’t trying to convince me or to say to me ‘come here, you will succeed’.”
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