“He always embarrassed me” “He’s too good for me – Jeremy Doku names Chelsea star as his toughest opponent in Premier League
Reece James is the hardest player that Jeremy Doku encountered during his first season at Manchester City, according to Doku.
Doku has played in 42 games for Pep Guardiola’s team, which last weekend claimed the Premier League title for a record-tying fourth time in a row.
On Saturday, live on talkSPORT, in the FA Cup final between City and Manchester United, the Belgian might have one last important role to play for the team.
The right-back James of Chelsea is Doku’s toughest opponent, according to the winger, who has faced numerous strong defenders this season.
When reflecting on his first campaign at City with SPORTbible, he said: “I’ve played against so many good defenders. Now it’s become so much more difficult with teams playing more defensively.
“I would say Reece James. I think he is a very strong and good defender, and one of the hardest I’ve ever played against.”
Doku and James have met just once during the season, with both starting in Chelsea and City’s thrilling 4-4 draw in November.
The latter’s five tackles was the most by any player on the pitch and he joined Marc Cucurella with the most tackles won on three.
It also proved to be a busy match for Doku as he completed 15 duels and was successful in five of his ten dribbles at Stamford Bridge.
James proved to be one of the best performers overall though as he also assisted Raheem Sterling, with Doku clearly impressed.
Even though City dropped points in their trip to west London they were still able to win their eighth Premier League title.
Doku featured in 29 of their league matches throughout the season, scoring three goals and assisting nine others.
He even set up Phil Foden for their second goal in the crucial 3-1 win over West Ham on the final day to help secure the crown.
The 21-year-old can go even further on Saturday though by winning the FA Cup to seal back-to-back doubles for City.