Rising Manchester City star Jeremy Doku is like Brazilian icon Garrincha in the way he dribbles with the ball and takes on opposition players.
That’s according to analyst Stephan Streker, who, alongside Nordin Jbari, has been praising the Manchester City man after his latest impressive performance in the win over RB Leipzig.
Doku has been earning rave reviews since arriving at the Etihad in the summer as a replacement for Riyad Mahrez, who left to move to the Saudi Pro League.
Rather than a slow integration into the team he’s been quickly thrown into the deep end by Pep Guardiola, who has been rewarded for his faith with a series of impressive performances from the 21-year-old.
That continued last night with a 36-minute cameo in the eventual 3-2 win over RB Leipzig in the Champions League.
That game again saw Doku demonstrating his ability on the ball, something that is reminiscent of Brazilian great Garrincha according to Streker.
“He reminds me of Garrincha,” he said.
“He always did the same thing. He looked at his defender and pushed the ball forward before crossing. Doku does the same. He pushes the ball and passes with his fiery legs before crossing.”
“He has become a starter at Manchester City. He has transformed himself,” added Jbari.
“He has become such an important player for City, and he is actually the most important player for our Devils. And in just a few months.”
That’s high praise from both, particularly Streker, who risks adding fuel to the ever-growing fire of adulation and optimism coming Doku’s way of late.
Garrincha is an undisputed great of the game, whose combination of skill, flair and unpredictability coupled with speed, agility and balance meant he was a menace for any opposition player and a key member of the Brazil team that won the World Cup in 1958 and 1962.
He’s very fondly remembered because of that and likening Doku to him is big praise indeed and surely not the last the Manchester City man will receive this season.
