Liverpool have been linked with Belgian wonderkid Jeremy Doku for a few years now, and French football expert Jonathan Johnson has written exclusively for CaughtOffside about his current progression with Rennes.
Johnson also suggested that a big transfer looked unlikely for the time being, with Doku showing some flashes of real quality and electric pace, but not looking quite consistent enough with his end-product to justify the kind of big fee he’d likely cost.
Liverpool lost Sadio Mane to Bayern Munich last summer, while it was recently announced that Roberto Firmino would be leaving at the end of his contract this year, so the Reds would do well to bring in attacking reinforcements in the near future.
Recent signings like Cody Gakpo and Darwin Nunez are starting to settle and hit form for Liverpool now, but Jurgen Klopp could perhaps still benefit from more depth in that department, particularly as Mohamed Salah isn’t getting any younger and has been slightly less effective for most of this season.
Still, Doku perhaps looks too expensive right now, with Johnson tipping him as one to possibly look out for later in the future.
“There has been interest in Jeremy Doku down the years, with long-standing links with Liverpool and other big clubs. He first came through the ranks in Belgium and has always been highly rated whilst developing his game at Rennes,” Johnson said.
“What I would say about Doku is that although he’s had moments of brilliance in his time in France, he’s struggled for consistency. He’s quite a difficult player to judge accurately, because there are some great moments there, and he’s got really explosive pace, but then sometimes there are questions over certain aspects of his end-product.
“To be honest, I think there are enough questions about his overall profile at the moment that means Premier League clubs would have to do a lot of research on him, and a lot of scouting before being sure they can work out how to get the best out of him. He’d probably command quite a significant transfer fee, and though I don’t think his wages would be an issue for most Premier League clubs, I think most teams would struggle to justify spending the kind of money that would be required to bring Rennes to the table for him right now.
“Unless he goes on a really terrific run of form in the weeks and months ahead, it wouldn’t surprise me if we still see him at Rennes next season. Still, there is potential there so he could be one to watch in the future.”