At only 17, the nugget of the Mauves is already one of the best dribblers in Europe.

Presented for several years as the next big thing of Neerpede, the winger has completed his first purple season with promising stats. Analysis of an overflowing talent.

Jérémy Doku cannot resist. Without waiting, he springs up on the dance floor, dragging in his wake a partner who rarely agrees. The choreography has the air of the first episode of Dance with the Stars, when the fluidity of a young professional dancer contrasts with the footwork borrowed from a personality

Doku keeps pace with dribbling.  The movements are abrupt. Almost brutal. The adversary must often be content to run after the music. "Generally, our adversaries run after our side ones. There, it was the opposite"

Thomas Kaminski testifies on a Friday in February at the Ghelamco Arena, spectator amazed by a salsa with fourteen dribbling attempts. Victim of the evening, Alessio Castro-Montesne can only confirm: "Frankly, I had never met such a fast player in the Pro League."

For the moment, Jérémy Doku has a lot more sense of rhythm than play. In 1,500 minutes spent on Belgian lawns, Doku has spoken his devastating kidney stroke. Whether the feint is a sole or a hook, the rest always looks like the start of an F1. Doku overflows his opponent more than he dribbles. And sets off again with each assault. With 13.2 dribbles attempted per 90 minutes, he flew over the championship in this field, his first pursuers not even reaching the bar of ten dribbles.

All this, with impressive efficiency (60% dribbling success) given the volume of his attempts. Even the untenable Mehdi Carcelu in early 2018 (10.8 dribbles with 45% success) or the best José Izquierdo (11.2 dribbles with 52% success in 2016-17) have never displayed such figures.

The number of dribbles per match by Jérémy Doku relegates the competition to very long distance. If he has, for the moment, a lot more sense of rhythm than of play, Jérémy Doku is nonetheless an already precious asset for Vincent Kompany's football, inspired by his years under the orders of Pep Guardiola and the role entrusted to his wingers by the coach of Citizens.

A detailed mission in La Métamorphose Marti Perarnauconsré à Guardiola: "In my conception of the game, the winger is someone who must spend many minutes alone, on one side, practically without moving or touching the ball, without intervening. Wait. And suddenly , he has to make an almost miraculous intervention. In my teams, a winger is like a goalkeeper. "

Even if his miracles are rarer than those of Hendrik Van Crombrugge, witness of the difficulties encountered by the Mauves this season to dominate the rhythm of the match without suffering, Doku understood the principle of waiting for his time before blasting his lane

"With him, there's always something going on," says former Mauve Jan Mulder. And despite his precise role, the prodigy of Neerpede makes it happen as often as possible. In the ten best European championships too, Doku is a reference in dribbling this season.

With 23.2 offensive duels executed per match, it is the national benchmark in this area. The frequency of his dribbles takes him even near the continental firmament. Among the players active in the ten best European championships (according to the UEFA coefficient), Doku is the fourth best dribbler. By counting only the dribbles successful by encounter, he climbs even on the podium, only preceded by the superpower Adama Traoré leaving Neymar behind.

The table would look idyllic if the game of Doku did not have its weaknesses. National team U17 coach Bob Browaeys pointed to them in the columns of Het Laatste Nieuwsen recalling the EURO disputed in Ireland in 2019, completed by the Anderlechtois without the slightest decisive gesture to put their teeth into: "It is not easy for him to give a good center or to remain calm in front of the goal. It goes so fast that it becomes difficult to be precise. "

With 5.3 centers per game, Jérémy Doku is Pro League's most prolific winger in the field. Jérémy Doku seems, at the moment, to need the benchmarks given by the sideline to express himself. When his dribble takes him to the vastness of the medium, the following choice is rarely the right one. The purple bomb is expressed much better along the chalk, when he eliminates his opponent and then sends a ball to the surface. With 5.3 centers per game, Doku is the most prolific winger in the championship in the matter, and his 29% of success in the exercise are in the average of the post, not far from 32% of a

Junya Itoqui is a benchmark among wingers. True to the guardiolesque precepts of its coach, the number 49 generally opts for the center stretched on the ground. 59 of its 79 centers were donated to the grass. Only thirteen were sold.

It is therefore at the moment of becoming effective that the machine is halted. Sesexpected goals (0.1 / 90 minutes) are much lower than those of its competitors among the top teams, the fault of a strike rarely exploited, and often drawn as a last resort from positions does not facilitate success. If his last passer figures are better (0.21

expected assistpar match), they have actually resulted in only three assists this season. Goals and assists "expected" from the wingers of the best Pro League teams.  Because its centers are rarely well given, or because Anderlecht lacked a surface fox capable of being in the right place to shake the nets? Perhaps, quite simply, because Jérémy Doku is only 17 years old.

Someone just has to bother turning on the music. Often, Vincent Kompany sticks to it. The Prince increases the volume of a millimeter transverse, and everything suggests that Jérémy Doku cannot resist. Without waiting, he springs up on the dance floor, dragging in his wake a partner who rarely agrees. The choreography has the air of the first episode of Dance with the Stars, when the fluidity of a young professional dancer contrasts with the footwork borrowed from a has-been personality. Doku has the rhythm of dribbling in the skin. And his beat is far from languid. The movements are abrupt. Almost brutal. The adversary must often be content to run after the music. "Generally, our adversaries run after our side ones. There, it was the opposite," testified Thomas Kaminski one Friday of February at Ghelamco Arena, spectator amazed by a fourteen dribbling salsa attempted. Evening victim, Alessio Castro-Montes can only

confirm: "Frankly, I had never met such a fast player in Pro League." In 1,500 minutes spent on Belgian lawns, Doku made speak of his devastating kidney stroke. Whether the feint is a sole or a hook, the rest always looks like the start of an F1. Doku overflows his opponent more than he dribbles. And sets off again with each assault. With 13.2 dribbles attempted per 90 minutes, he flew over the championship in this field, his first pursuers not even reaching the bar of ten dribbles. All this, with impressive efficiency (60% dribbling success) given the volume of his attempts. Even the untenable Mehdi Carcela of early 2018 (10.8 dribbles with 45% success) or the best José Izquierdo (11.2 dribbles with 52% success in 2016-17) have never displayed such figures. 'he has, for the moment, a lot more sense of rhythm than of play, Jérémy Doku is nonetheless an already precious asset for Vincent Kompany's football, inspired by his years under the orders of Pep Guardiola and the role entrusted to its wingers by the Citizens coach. A detailed mission in La Métamorphose, Marti Perarnau's book on Guardiola: "In my conception of the game, the winger is someone who has to spend a lot of minutes alone, on one side,

practically without moving or touching the ball, without intervening. Wait. And suddenly, he has to make an almost miraculous intervention. In my teams, a winger is like a goalkeeper. "Even if his miracles are rarer than those of Hendrik Van Crombrugge, witnessing the difficulties encountered by the Mauves this season to dominate the rhythm of the match without suffering, Doku understood the principle to wait for its hour before blasting its corridor. "With it, there is always something going on," sums up former Mauve Jan Mulder. And despite his precise role, the prodigy of Neerpede makes it happen the most Often possible with 23.2 offensive duels played per game, it is the national benchmark in this field. The frequency of its dribbles takes it even close to the continental firmament. Among the players active in the ten best European championships ( according to the UEFA coefficient), Doku is the fourth best dribbler. By counting only the successful dribbles per encounter, he even climbs on the podium, only overtaken by the overpowered Adama Traoré but leaving behind N The table would look idyllic if the game of Doku did not have its weaknesses. His coach for the U17 national team, Bob Browaeys, pointed to them in the columns of Het Laatste Nieuws by recalling the EURO disputed in Ireland in 2019, completed by the Anderlechtois without the slightest decisive gesture to put in the mouth: "It is not easy for him to give a good center or to remain calm in front of the goal. It goes so fast that it becomes difficult to be precise." Jérémy Doku seems, at the moment, need the benchmarks given by the touchline to express themselves. When his dribble takes him to the vastness of the medium, the following choice is rarely the right one. The purple bomb is expressed much better along the chalk, when he eliminates his opponent and then sends a ball to the surface. With 5.3 centers per game, Doku is the most prolific winger in the championship in the matter, and his 29% of success in the exercise are in the average of the post, not far from 32% of a Junya Ito who serves as a benchmark among wingers.

True to the precepts guardiolesques of its coach, number 49 generally opts for the center stretched on the ground. 59 of its 79 centers were donated to the grass. Only thirteen found a taker, so it was at the moment of becoming efficient that the machine became jammed. His expected goals (0.1 / 90 minutes) are much lower than his competitors among the top teams, the fault of a strike rarely exploited, and often drawn as a last resort from positions does not facilitate success. If his last passer numbers are better (0.21 expected assist per match), they have actually resulted in only three assists this season. Because his centers are rarely given, or because Anderlecht lacked a surface fox capable of being in the right place to shake the nets? Perhaps, quite simply, because Jérémy Doku is only 17 years old.