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Jeremy Doku was among the goals for Belgium during the international break but Manchester City have yet to see the consistent best of the winger
Jeremy Doku is thrilling and infuriating in equal measure.
His Manchester City career can be summed up by moments of brilliance and excitement, but too often no end product.
The 23-year-old feels on the cusp of exploding into life as a dominant wide player, but is to translate his obvious talent into consistency.
So Blues fans could perhaps be forgiven for scratching their head when the Belgian rifled in two goals for his country in midweek, displaying a calmness in front of goal that hasn't been seen enough at the Etihad.
His first showed his intelligence as he cut inside the defender and fired home, while his second was a superb finish from an angle after a burst of pace on the left took him past his man. He also produced an assist when he peeled away at the back post to volley across goal for Nicolas Raskin to tap in.
On both occasions his decision making was correct while he certainly showed he can be a clinical goalscorer. Marry those two qualities together for City, and he is suddenly a different animal. It's easier said than done but Raheem Sterling and Leroy Sane are two recent examples of how City wide players went through the gears to become prolific contributors.
Speaking on the Talking City Podcast, MEN City writer Tyrone Marshall highlighted the next steps the Belgian needs to take.
"I think it's about having that nose for goal," he said. "I mean City play a different way now, but we saw it with Sterling and Sane where they they were always at the back post for those finishes.
"It's about having that kind of nose to sniff out chances as a winger, to know where to go around Haaland when the ball's on the right and Doku is on the left.
"Don't stay wide on the left, get into the middle, look for a goal, be another Haaland in there, sniff it out.
"And obviously part of it is decision making and finishing. I don't think anyone can argue that his decision making is hit and miss. So there's there's a bit of that, but you do see it with players like this, I think, that something will just click.
"And I think a lot of it is coaching basically and knowing where to be on the pitch to get the chances and put them away."
Doku arrived at the Etihad two years ago but has just six goals in 61 league appearances for the Blues with three coming in each of his City campaigns.
He showed a goalscoring instinct at the Club World Cup but hasn't translated that to the early weeks of the club season. And that is something the player himself is keen to change.
Speaking while on international duty he said: "I’m not yet fully in form. I’ve always been critical of myself, I know when I’m good and then don’t play afterwards, it’s not in my hands.
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“But I also say when I’m not good, and I know I haven’t been in the first three matches. But I know it will come quickly and everything will be fine.
"This season, I want to work on my stats. Football isn’t just about stats, but they matter. I want to find myself in the penalty area more often.”
If he finds himself in the box with a little bit more regularity the goals will surely follow. It's a big year for Doku and he must make the most of it.
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