Manchester City are a formidable team.
Over the years, Pep Guardiola – with the help of the club’s director of football Txiki Begiristain – has built a squad that is now widely regarded as the strongest in football.
The recruitment has been superb in recent times, and there are truly some outstanding talents at the Etihad Stadium.
The man of the moment is, of course, Erling Haaland.
The Norwegian hit two more goals at the weekend in the 2-1 win over Brentford, and is now just one goal away from a century for City.
The word ‘unstoppable’ is regularly used to describe the striker.
But Carlton Cole reckons City have another player who can be viewed this way.
Carlton Cole blown away by ‘defender’s nightmare’ Man City winger Jeremy Doku
Jeremy Doku is now into his second season at City, after joining in the summer of 2023 from Rennes.
Doku did well in his first campaign. While he showed that he is still raw, he did finish the season with 18 goal contributions in 43 appearances (seven goals, 11 assists).
The Belgian livewire is known for his unpredictability, and he is always trying to beat his man.
In a new video on the Sky Sports Premier League YouTube channel, there was a discussion about the best one-vs-one attackers in the division.
Former striker Carlton Cole then spoke about the City star.
He said: “I’ve got to talk about Doku. One-vs-one, oh my God. He’s a trojan, you can’t stop him.
“The thing about Doku, I was watching the Chelsea game. This guy was taking on players in the 87th minute, he’s gone past two or three and I’m like ‘That’s a defender’s nightmare’. He just keeps on coming, he doesn’t stop.
“Even if he’s unsuccessful, he’ll keep on knocking at that door.”
Doku must be more consistent
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Doku is certainly a fearsome opponent in one-vs-one situations.
Recently, Arsenal defender Ben White actually suggested that Doku has been one of his toughest challenges on the pitch.
There is little doubt about Doku’s ability to beat a mean and create space for himself.
But there remain question marks about his end product. Often, Doku will still choose the wrong option when it comes to the final ball, or fail to beat the first man with a cross.
Simply put, if he does become more consistent in the final third, then we will be talking about Doku has one of the top wingers in football.
The star still has plenty of time to figure it out, with his peak some five or six years away yet.
