Jeremy Doku has been one of the standout players of the Premier League season so far, but the Manchester City wizard could quite easily have been weaving his magic in the division for Liverpool.
According to Het Laatste Nieuws [via Daily Express], the Reds had reached an agreement with Anderlecht – for whom the winger was playing at the time – to sign the talented prospect, having been given permission to speak to him by the Brussels outfit.
The then 15-year-old travelled to Merseyside for talks, with the Anfield hierarchy determined to get him to sign on the dotted line by offering him a ‘lucrative contract’ and even a residential property.
However, Doku decided against joining Liverpool, instead preferring to remain in his native Belgium and develop further before moving to the Premier League.
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It wasn’t through a lack of effort from the Liverpool hierarchy that Doku turned down a move to Anfield, and there was probably little more they could’ve done if the player was leaning towards staying at Anderlecht to continue his development.
At such a young age, he wouldn’t have gone straight into the Reds’ first team, with a couple of loan moves perhaps being lined up to bolster his experience before being ready to break through under Jurgen Klopp.
Instead, the 21-year-od is now ripping it up at rivals Man City, and his former national team boss Roberto Martinez has said of him: “When I talk about him, I have to smile. He’s one of those players who can bring magic to his game.” (mancity.com).
Doku already has four goals and six assists in 15 games for Pep Guardiola’s side since joining them in the summer, with five of those goal contributions coming in an incredible performance against Bournemouth last weekend (Transfermarkt).
Liverpool have some marvellous left-sided options in Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota and Cody Gakpo, so it’s not as if Klopp will be having sleepless nights over the Belgian’s decision not to sign for the Reds five years ago.
Nonetheless, it’s hard not to imagine just how electric he could’ve been at Anfield, when looking at how he’s excelling in Manchester.
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