Pundit Stewart Downing has suggested that Jeremy Doku could start in Manchester City’s Premier League match against Brighton & Hove Albion this afternoon.
With the latest international break now out of the way, domestic football resumes with the Manchester club taking on the seagulls at the Etihad Stadium.
In the build up to this clash, one pundit and former Premier League player has claimed that one particular City figure could be in line with a start on this occasion.
Downing backs Doku to start against Brighton
Speaking in a recent edition of the BBC’s Football Daily podcast, Downing had this to say on the matter.
He said: “I think Doku might play. I do like him, he’s a lot different to [Jack] Grealish and he’s more direct.”
City signed the 21-year-old during the previous summer transfer window in a deal worth £55m.
Since then, the winger has featured in five league games for Pep Guardiola’s side, starting four of them and scoring one goal in the process, which came during the club’s 3-1 away win over West Ham United last month.
Across his five league appearances, Doku has made more progressive carries (35) and carries into the penalty area (20) than any other player at City, which backs up Downing’s point about the Belgian being direct in his attacking play.
Bearing in mind how Brighton have conceded more goals (21) than any other side in the division ahead of this weekend’s fixtures, this could suggest that someone with such attacking prowess such as Doku could be a nightmare for the Seagulls’ defence.
Moving forward, if Guardiola does decide to put Doku back in his starting XI, after he left him out for City’s 1-0 defeat against Arsenal, this could be a game where the Belgian international is once again able to show how much of a dangerous attacking player he is.
