Liverpool will make another attempt to sign Rennes forward Jeremy Doku after the winger turned down the chance to move to Anfield aged 16, according to a new report.
Doku, now 20, impressed at last summer's European Championships as Belgium reached the quarter-final stages, and a move to the Premier League feels like it could be the natural next step for a player who has excelled in France since his move in 2020.
Reports emerging from Italian publication Calciomercato state that the Reds 'will return' to pursue a move for Doku in the upcoming transfer window. The Belgian is a player they are said to have 'never stopped thinking about' since they first documented their interest in his talents while he was just a teenager.
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Having been touted as one of the top talents in Belgium, Doku was part of Anderlecht's rich academy alumni and subsequently spoke to Steven Gerrard, Gini Wijnaldum and Sadio Mane as he mulled over a potential move to Merseyside four years ago.
“I was going to be 16 and that was the age you can sign a pro contract,” Doku previously revealed. “A lot of teams came to see me. Everyone talks about Liverpool because it was the most concrete interest but there was also Arsenal and Chelsea.
“I was able to discuss with Jurgen [Klopp], [Sadio] Mane, [Gini] Wijnaldum… [Steven] Gerrard too. I talked a lot with Mane but we didn’t really talk about football. We talked about everything.
“He told me that I was young, that I still had time. He wasn’t trying to convince me or say to me ‘come here, you will succeed’.
“I preferred to be careful. I know what my trajectory had to be. That’s why, at 15, I told myself it had become serious, because I’d seen my career. I know what route I needed to take and I knew at that moment I needed to stay at Anderlecht.
“As soon as I’m asked if I regret it, 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.”
Meanwhile, the report also states that Arsenal and Chelsea are following Doku 'closely' as both London clubs appear to be sizing up a move for the 20-year-old, who has over 100 senior appearances to his name during the fledgling stages of his career thus far.
Having made the move from Anderlecht to Rennes in 2020 for a fee in the region of £22m, his current contract at Ligue 1 outfit runs until July 2025; maning that anyone who has a genuine interest in adding Doku's qualities to their attacking ranks in the near future would have to part with a hefty amount of money and ultimately test the resolve of Les Rennais.
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