Pep Guardiola expressed his surprise at the rapid impact of Jeremy Doku in Manchester City's recent 3-1 victory over West Ham. Although City initially fell behind to a header from James Ward-Prowse, Doku began a remarkable comeback with a superb solo goal.
Guardiola acknowledged that patience is essential, given Doku's recent move from Stade Rennais during the summer. However, he was also highly impressed by Doku's performance against the previously undefeated West Ham.
Quoted by Mancity.com Pep said: "When you buy a player like him for four or five years – I don’t know how many years we signed him for – we have to be patient."
"I will be honest, I didn’t expect him to play for Man City the way he did today! Against Fulham, he was deeper and closer to Kyle [Walker] so today he was higher. There are processes he has to learn and all the time we are there to help him but he has to say, 'I have to be myself as a player'."
"I was in Barcelona when Jeremy arrived and I had the feeling that maybe he was a little shy in his first game," Guardiola added.
"He’d just joined us, had two or three days’ training with a team that had won the Treble and we spoke about this – I told him to use his quality as a winger - one on one or one v two, if you have the feeling, go."
"From the first minute he was incredible, aggressive with determination and arrived many times on the byline. I’m really pleased because we thought the quality was there, and he has started to prove it."
