Manchester City have reportedly agreed a deal for Rennes winger Jeremy Doku.
The Manchester club have been linked with the 21-year-old in recent weeks following the departure of Riyad Mahrez, who made a move to Saudi Arabian club Al-Ahli in a deal worth £30m last month.
Now though, a big behind-the-scenes development has emerged regarding this particular transfer saga.
City agree deal for Doku
In a recent Twitter post, journalist Santi Aouna had this to say on the matter.
He said: “EXCL: #Ligue1 Agreement found between DOKU and Man City. A 5 years contract. City will talk soon with Rennes and… Player wants City.
“BUT West Ham have entered in the race too. The Hammers want to hijack the deal and have submitted a first verbal bid to Rennes.”
After making his way through the youth ranks at Anderlecht and making 37 senior appearances for the Belgian club, the winger joined Rennes back in 2020.
Since then, the attacker has made 91 appearances for the French side across all competitions, chipping in with 12 goals and 10 assists.
The Belgian international got his latest Ligue 1 campaign off to a flying start as he scored a goal in Rennes’ 5-1 win over FC Metz.
With Mahrez now having left the Etihad Stadium, it’s easy to see why the Citizens have set their sights on bringing in a new winger like Doku.
However, with West Ham now apparently looking to hijack this deal, City may have to make sure that they offer a better deal for Rennes than the Hammers may do.
Having apparently agreed a deal with the player, this should give them the advantage in terms of signing him, but they will still need to come up with a transfer fee that the Ligue 1 club are willing to accept.
