Liverpool haven’t forgotten about former transfer target Jeremy Doku, who they tried to sign in 2017.
That’s according to Calciomercato.it, who claim in fact that the Reds ‘haven’t stopped thinking about’ Doku in the five years since then.
They report that as a result, Liverpool will ‘return’ to tempt the now 20-year-old to Anfield once again.
But while they lost out to Anderlecht half a decade ago, they’ll face new competition this time around.
Premier League pair Arsenal and Chelsea are said to have been following Doku since his breakout. Meanwhile Juventus and Napoli are also sniffing around the Rennes man.
Doku not doing enough to justify Liverpool interest
Liverpool’s previous interest in Doku isn’t a secret. The player himself addressed it having moved to Rennes from Anderlecht in 2020.
“I was going to be 16 years old so that’s when you can sign a pro contract. There are a lot of teams that have come to see me. Everyone talks about Liverpool because it was the most concrete but there was Arsenal and Chelsea in particular,” Doku said in an interview with Ouest-France in March 2021.
“As soon as I am asked if I regret, I say no all the time. Because if Liverpool came at 15, if they like me, they’ll come back later, that’s for sure. It’s up to me to be good.”
If this report is to be believed, then that confidence looks to have been well-placed.
But it also must be said that Doku hasn’t exactly set the world on fire since joining Rennes. Although much was expected of the Belgian, he has struggled with injury and inconsistent form.
The youngster has scored just four goals in 62 games for the Ligue 1 side. Although output can’t be measured in goals alone, this isn’t the kind of record that would re-alert Liverpool.
Doku did look frighteningly effective for Belgium in last summer’s European Championship. Since then though, he hasn’t made any of Roberto Martinez’s national team squads.
Unless something changes drastically in the next month, he won’t be going to the World Cup. And unless he manages to deliver more consistently for Rennes, it’s unlikely that Liverpool will make another move to sign him anytime soon.
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