MANCHESTER, England -- If things had played out differently for Jérémy Doku, he could have been walking out at Wembley in the FA Cup semifinal on Saturday (stream live at 12:15 p.m. on ESPN+ in the U.S.) in the colors of Southampton rather than Manchester City.
Battling relegation from the Premier League during the 2022-23 campaign, Southampton looked at signing the winger from Rennes in the January window as they scoured the market for players to help get them out of trouble. But an agreement never materialized and, six months later, the Belgium international was on his way to the Etihad Stadium in a deal worth more than £50 million.
"Maybe they [Southampton] were interested," Doku tells ESPN. "There were teams that were interested, but there was never a conversation of me going there. I think that was not the right step for me to make at that point."
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Doku suspects that the move he did eventually make had something to do with former City captain Vincent Kompany. Before joining Rennes in 2020, he came through the youth ranks at Anderlecht and his path crossed with Kompany, who left City in 2019 to take over as player-coach at the Belgian club where he started his career nearly two decades earlier.
The 23-year-old is fuzzy on the details, but he suspects City gave Kompany a call when they were looking to find a replacement for Riyad Mahrez late in the summer window in 2023.
"I remember in Anderlecht when we were speaking about City and everything, he [Kompany] always said that he sees me playing in a team like this," Doku says. "At that point, I didn't know. I didn't see myself here because I had still some growth to do. But he always mentioned it to me, and so I don't think it's a coincidence I'm here."
With Doku now a key part of a City team targeting a domestic treble, Pep Guardiola has "Agent Kompany" to thank. And any gratitude owed to the now-Bayern Munich boss will only grow if Doku realizes his own lofty ambitions.
Jérémy Doku has impressed this season and is ready to take the next step. DARREN STAPLES/AFP via Getty Images Approaching the end of his third season in England, he's now established at the Etihad Stadium. The next aim, he says, is to become one of the best wingers in the world, rivalling the likes of Real Madrid's Vinícius Júnior and Barcelona's Lamine Yamal.