Jeremy Doku to Liverpool: Rennes winger is the last thing injury-hit Reds need

Karan Tejwani

Updated: 10 Oct 2022 08:38 BST
3 min read

Liverpool have been linked with a move for Rennes winger Jeremy Doku, as they hope to add more depth to their attacking line and see the Belgian as the ideal fit for their squad.

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The Reds have had a tough start to the 2022-23 season, and their most recent result was a 3-2 defeat to league leaders Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium, making it their worst start to a campaign under Jurgen Klopp.

A part of the reason is their lack of efficiency in attack, with Liverpool having sold winger Sadio Mane to Bayern Munich over the summer transfer window.

Now, they’re targeting Doku for their attack, having tracked his growth over the years and even having tried to sign him once previously when the player was still growing in the game.

Liverpool interested in Doku signing

Liverpool previously showed Doku around their facilities in the hope of signing him a four-and-a-half years ago, but he ended up staying in Belgium and moving to Anderlecht.

He’s been linked with a move to Anfield yet again, now having become a member of the Belgian national team and earning a move to Rennes, but Liverpool face competition from Juventus and Napoli, according to Calciomercato.

When Doku visited Liverpool all that time ago, manager Jurgen Klopp made it clear that the Belgian could be Sadio Mane’s replacement in the future, and that may well come true in the coming months.

Doku too, was confident that he made the right call in not picking Liverpool in 2015 and was always confident they would come knocking again one day in the future.

"As soon as I’m asked if I regret [not going to Liverpool], I always say no, because if Liverpool came to me at 15, if they like me, they’ll come back later, that’s certain. It’s up to me to play well," he said to Goal in 2021.

Gaetan Laborde seals all three points for Rennes! 🔴⚫️

The Frenchman slots home from close range, but it was all about the movement and pass from Jeremy Doku to set him up 🤩 pic.twitter.com/7nYAlbf9Wb
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) March 6, 2022

The Reds may be vary about Doku, as his injury record since moving to Rennes isn’t the best: he has missed 34 games since the start of last season, which is the last thing Liverpool need at the minute.

Klopp’s side have already been suffering with various injury issues over the course of this season and they don’t need more players with a poor fitness record, having already seen the negative sides of signing Arthur Melo.

While Doku is massively talented, and is still only 20, signing him represents a big risk and considering they need players in their attacking line, bringing one with a poor fitness record is a big risk.