‘Unbelievable’ Manchester City forward is more reliable than last season, says Pep Guardiola | OneFootball

Pep Guardiola has extolled the virtues of Jeremy Doku and has hailed the winger for being ‘more reliable’ this season than his debut campaign in England.

Doku has seen a greater share of minutes in Manchester City’s forward line in recent months as Manchester City turn to the high-flying, pacey Belgian for inspiration and a cutting edge that has lacked in the attack for much of the 2024-25 season.

City dropped to fourth place in the Premier League table after being held to a goalless draw by relegated Southampton at St. Mary’s on Saturday, with Newcastle taking third place after seeing off fellow top four hopefuls Chelsea with a 2-0 win at St. James’ Park on Sunday.

Guardiola’s side have no room for error in their final two Premier League games against Bournemouth and Fulham – which will come after they play Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final at Wembley this weekend.

After an uninspiring attacking showing in the opening half against Southampton on Saturday, Guardiola brought off James McAtee and put on Jeremy Doku to inject pace into his attack to try and slice open a resolute Saints defence.

Doku has made an impressive impact off the bench for Manchester City in recent months and it has begged the question as to why the 22-year-old has not seen more starts for his match-changing performances, with a majority of his minutes coming from the bench this term.

Guardiola recently issued an apology to the 2023 signing from Rennes for being ‘unfair’ to Doku and not playing him enough this season – despite the wide attacker’s displays warranting a much bigger role in a side that has struggled for creativity in the final third all season.

Speaking on Doku’s impact in recent months prior to a goalless draw against Southampton at the weekend, Guardiola hailed the Belgian’s displays this season and pointed that he has much greater faith in Doku than he did in the attacker’s first year in England.

“The impact is really good. In assists, in defensively, in work ethic, and the impact when he comes on for 30 minutes, how he can change the game,” Guardiola said of Doku.

“Yeah, he has been really good! (More reliable than this time last season?) Listen, the players want to improve, and they want to love to play, and they are focused, and they want a good spirit – and they are better.

“Every season you play and you are positive, you are a better player. You are. And I think he will become top. He is already. In the final third, when we drop the teams, his ability to do the actions is unbelievable.”

Doku received huge plaudits for his match-winning run and assist for Matheus Nunes in Manchester City’s vital 2-1 win over fellow top four hopefuls Aston Villa in the Premier League in April.

The young attacker has played much less than he deserves so far this season and Guardiola has a good opportunity to reward Doku’s recent heroics by handing the winger a much-deserved start in the FA Cup final at Wembley on Saturday.