Manchester City winger Jeremy Doku is “almost impossible” to stop once he gets going and a nightmare for defenders as a result.
That’s according to Stade Reims defender Thibaut De Smet, who has come up against him in France and admits it was a daunting experience.
Doku was one of the surprising deals of the summer transfer window, joining Manchester City in a €60m deal from Stade Rennais midway through August.
It was a deal that few had seen coming, with Doku ultimately arriving at the Etihad as a replacement for Riyad Mahrez after his move to Saudi Arabia.
The Belgian youngster has big shoes to fill in replacing the Algerian and will have to step up considerably if he is to do so, with a tally of 12 goals and 10 assists in 92 games for Rennes hardly inspiring.
At 21-years-old, though, he is very much a star for the future and De Smet believes he is already one of the best players he has come up against in his career.
“I remember well that Thomas Foket and I were talking about Doku before the match,” he told Het Nieuwsblad, relayed by Voetbal Primeur, about the Manchester City winger.
“When we saw that he started the match, we said to each other: hopefully he is on your side, or it will be a long match. Because against a player like that it is just a tough 90 minutes. In the end he was on the right, so I had it.
“I’d say it’s almost impossible to stop him. He’s one of the best players I’ve ever played against. The only thing that can help is defending with two men. But when you face him one-on-one, With his starting speed, he only needs to give the ball one tap to pass you.”
