Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has said that Jeremy Doku will give every defender a tough time this season.
In a post-match interview with NBC Sports, the Dutch centre-back had his say on Doku, who put in yet another bright display for Manchester City in their 1-1 draw against Liverpool.
Gary Neville himself admitted after the clash that he too would not have wanted to come up against the £55.5 million (Sky Sports) man.
Virgil van Dijk says Jeremy Doku would give every defender a “tough afternoon”
Recently, even Aaron Lennon claimed that defenders would dread going toe-to-toe with a direct winger like the Belgian international.
With two goals and five assists to his name in eight Premier League starts, the 21-year-old has surpassed the masses’ expectations of him in a Manchester City shirt so far.
Virgil van Dijk, who has been one of the most in-form centre-backs in Europe this campaign has acknowledged the challenge of facing Jeremy Doku.
“Everyone this season as a defender, one v one against him will have a tough afternoon”, Van Dijk told NBC Sports.
He added, “He’s a very good dribbler and one v one.”
Jeremy Doku must develop two aspects of his game to reach the next level
Virgil van Dijk must have seen the impact Jeremy Doku is capable of having on a football pitch first-hand as he was a thorn in Liverpool’s side on Saturday.
While the youngster’s tremendous dribbling remains his finest trait, for him to reach the next level, there are two aspects of his game he must improve.
Firstly, Doku’s off-the-ball movement is one facet he can work on, as he has the raw pace to run in behind defences to score and assist goals.
So far, this aspect of his skillset seems underdeveloped.
Secondly, Jeremy Doku is quite one-footed, which makes his delivery slightly underwhelming when he gets on the outside.
Once the highly-rated wideman hones both of these aspects, it might become genuinely impossible to keep him quiet for any defender in the world.
