Major Doku upgrade: Man City eye up move for £85m "world-class superstar"

Will Manchester City spend big this summer?

Back in January, the Sky Blues spent a reported £180m, that’s more than the other 19 Premier League clubs combined, acquiring five new players, namely Omar Marmoush, Abdukodir Khusanov, Nico González, Juma Bah and Vitor Reis.

Nevertheless, Pep Guardiola does not plan to stop there, so does he have his eyes set on a new winger?

Manchester City’s wide-attacker target

Much of the transfer chatter as we approach the summer has surrounded the likes of Morgan Gibbs-White and Florian Wirtz. While Wirtz can play out wide, he’s more of a no.10, and thus, the Citizens may need someone else to take on that berth instead.

Well, according to a report from Spain, Manchester City remain “interested” in signing Rodrygo, who is valued at €100m (around £85m) by Real Madrid.

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As noted by Graham Ruthven of Total Soccer Show, Real Madrid lack balance when Rodrygo, Vinícius Júnior and Kylian Mbappé are all deployed as a front three, forecasting that one will ultimately be “sacrificed”, with Rodrygo the most likely candidate.

Nevertheless, this is not to diminish the Brazilian’s talent, with his manager Carlo Ancelotti labeling him a “special striker”, while teammate Luka Modrić described him as a “world-class superstar”.

Nevertheless, with Felipe del Campo of Radio Marca claiming Rodrygo is considering leaving Real Madrid, could he be on his way to Manchester?

What Rodrygo’s arrival would mean for Jeremy Doku

Given their positional and stylistic similarities, should Rodrygo swap the Bernabéu for the Etihad, this could be bad news for Jérémy Doku.

The Belgian hadn’t started any of the Citizens’ last five matches, making him a surprise inclusion in Guardiola’s lineup against Wolves on Friday night but he repaid the manager’s faith with an eye-catching performance, teeing-up compatriot Kevin De Bruyne for the night’s only goal.

Nevertheless, more broadly, Doku’s form this season has been mixed, scoring just six goals across all competitions, the most recent of which came during the 6-0 demolition of Ipswich in January.

Rodrygo, on the other hand, has continued to produce impressive numbers, in spite of the fact Real Madrid remain dysfunctional, as the table below highlights.

As the table outlines, Rodrygo would represent a clear upgrade on Doku, coming out on top when it comes to goals, assists, shooting and chances created, even if the Belgian’s dribbling numbers are admittedly superior.

This shouldn’t be too surprising though, given that, as noted by Adrian Clarke of the Premier League, Doku might just be the ‘best dribbler in the world’, having registered more progressive carries (189) than anyone else across Europe’s top five leagues this season, according to FBref.com.

On the other end, Martina Alcheva of World Soccer Talk praises Rodrygo’s ‘versatility and work rate’, while Sive Vishwa of Breaking the Lines notes he is a ‘vital player for Real Madrid’, in terms of ‘pressing’, goal contributions and ‘unlocking defences’, believing the Brazilian to be ‘one of the hottest prospects in world football’.

Thus, if Man City get the opportunity to snap up Rodrygo this summer, they should absolutely do so, as he would improve any team he joins, potentially elevating the Sky Blues back to a level where they’re dominating the Premier League once again.

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