Thierry Henry shares what he told Man City’s Jeremy Doku privately that he thinks is a big problem in his game

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While working as Roberto Martinez’s assistant manager for Belgium, Thierry Henry had the chance to coach Jeremy Doku.

For the Manchester City winger, the opportunity of working with one of the greatest players of all time must have been an honour.

Considering Henry started his career as a wide player as well, Jeremy Doku would have picked the Frenchman’s brain to understand how to take his game to the next level.

Pep Guardiola called Doku an “incredible” player and perhaps a key reason behind his rise is working with the Arsenal legend before moving to Manchester City in 2023.

• READ MORE: Jeremy Doku says £30m Manchester City player is always nutmegging people in training

Thierry Henry says he told Jeremy Doku to become a better creator

But Thierry Henry revealed that he once had a chat with Doku about his dribbling, which is the Belgian’s standout trait.

Roy Keane initially asked Henry on Stick To Football: “Roy Keane: “When you say dribbling, does that mean you have to go beyond them or was that sometimes like, you mentioned Giggsy [Ryan Giggs] and Becks [David Beckham] and these lads, sometimes, that was just going on the outside and half a yard, it wasn’t necessarily going past them, it was just going past them and putting it in.”

Thierry Henry explained that he told Doku to look for a cross and find his striker’s runs rather than looking to beat a man at all times: “I had that discussion with Doku in the national team. Very interesting.”

“I’m looking at him and as you, always [gestures that Doku is always looking to dribble], I’m like when you do this, what do you see? Are you here, are you here [where Doku is currently stationed] or are you there [closer to goal]?”

While Ola Aina has pinpointed how dangerous Doku is, Thierry Henry encouraged him to look up while taking on a man to spot his striker’s movement as well.

“Because you do this [standing up his man] to see what you’re doing because you’re cooking here, I call it cooking, you’re cooking here but you see the movement of your [number] nine but you do this [look down], you don’t even know what’s happening [when the striker is inside the box] there. You don’t need to dribble past someone to give a cross, you don’t need to dribble past someone to give an assist.”

“It’s about balance, like everything in life.”

How many assists Jeremy Doku has given to Erling Haaland

Doku’s end product has been criticised in the past but at just 23 years of age, he still has plenty of time to improve his game.

Next season, Doku will perhaps be trying his best to become a superior creator, as Thierry Henry suggested him to and form a frightening partnership with Erling Haaland.

So far, the former Rennes speedster and Haaland have only been involved in four games as a duo despite playing as many as 61 games in tandem.

With Doku assisting the star striker just three times, he will be looking to up his tally in this regard during the following campaign,