Jeremy Doku warns Liverpool over Manchester City’s Premier League intentions next season | OneFootball

Manchester City winger Jeremy Doku has handed Liverpool a warning over his and the Etihad Stadium squad’s intentions looking towards the 2025/26 campaign.

Pep Guardiola’s players will be hoping for a much stronger season next time around after their ongoing campaign was hindered by various problems on and off the pitch, namely the mounting injury issues concerning key members of the squad.

Crashing out of the UEFA Champions League before the last-16 stage for the first time since 2012, Manchester City also failed to seriously challenge the likes of Liverpool and Arsenal for more Premier League success.

Ageing legs in core positions and injuries to the likes of Oscar Bobb, Kevin De Bruyne, Rodri, and Erling Haaland at different points of the season meant inconsistencies in terms of results derailed the season before the turn of the year on a major silverware front.

However, with club officials targeting significant investment over the summer months, bringing in a whole host of new and exciting stars, Manchester City firmly believe they can be back competing at the very highest level as soon as possible.

Speaking to NBC Sports in a wide-ranging interview including his footballing journey thus far and life at Manchester, Jeremy Doku was keen to issue somewhat of a warning to the newly-crowned Premier League champions Liverpool over his and City’s intentions next season.

“Winning your Premier League title in the first year is not common. So this year really showed me that every year you need to be at that standard. Teams get better every year. [Other] teams don’t want to see you win, so the year after, they will come for you,” Doku admitted.

The Belgian winger added, “Congratulations to Liverpool, but looking at them, I’m like, ‘Okay, no, even if I won it last year, I want to win it again’. [I have] that hunger. I really feel that even more now. I’ve learned that you always have to go and get it.

“Nothing is going to be given to you because you’re not the only one who wants to win. There are a lot of good teams in this league, and the Premier League is so hard, so you have to [show up] every time.”

Doku was also informed of Pep Guardiola’s high praise earlier in the season, in which the City coach labelled the 22-year-old as ‘the best player in the world in five meters’, in reference to his arguably unstoppable ability in one-versus-one duels.

“Obviously, that is a nice compliment,” the former Stade Rennais front-man reacted. “I knew already that my acceleration is one of my strongest points, both physically and in the way I play.

“He’s already told me that a couple of times in training sessions or after games, but for him to say it publicly is a big compliment, and I appreciate it. I’m always confident in my dribbling.

“I know that with my speed, I can always get past [my opponent] if I execute right. So that’s always good to hear that, of course.”

Jeremy Doku is one of a few attacking players whose future in sky blue and white appears safe heading into a busy summer market, standing alongside the likes of Savinho, Oscar Bobb, Omar Marmoush, and Erling Haaland viewed as the future of Manchester City.