Doku brings chaos in Guardiola's game of control heading into Manchester derby

James Milner’s he is probably still spinning.

At age 37 and in final throes of his career, last thing this loyal servant to English soccer needed was to be deployed out of position at right back and be confronted by Jeremy Doku.

Doku, Manchester City’s exciting offseason signing, twisted Milner this way and that, assisting a goal after seven minutes, setting up several or chances and giving Brighton veteran such a hard time that he was substituted at halftime of teams’ Premier League match last weekend.

Milner might not be last to suffer that fate.

Doku, a 21-year-old from Belgium, is a livewire winger bringing an element of chaos to a City team orwise under orders to play a game of control under Pep Guardiola.

He is third among all Premier League players for carries into penalty area, fourth for carries at least 10 yards (meters) and sixth for most successful dribbles, according to soccer statistics website FBref. He has only played in six of City’s nine league games, too, one of m as a substitute and anor for just 51 minutes before being replaced in a rejig brought about by a red card.

big question heing into this weekend is wher Doku is thrown into a Manchester derby at Old Trafford, a match Guardiola typically goes into stressing need for discipline and tactical domination.

Guardiola’s decision will say plenty about how much he rates his new signing.

early signs are: highly.

“I’m starting to learn when to go and when not to go in moment,” Doku said after that Brighton game that marked his best performance since joining City from Rennes for $70 million in late August effectively as a replacement for departed Riy Mahrez.

And that's to be expected of a rough diamond like Doku, who should thrive under Guardiola and with so many top players around him, such as Erling Haaland, Julian Alvarez and Phil Foden.

Jack Grealish might be ded to that list, though it's England international whose place — on left wing — is most under threat following arrival of Doku, even if y played in same team Wednesday when City beat Young Boys 3-1 in Champions League.

Grealish used to be in Doku mold, a free spirit who would roam and dribble and be direct when he was star man at former club Aston Villa.

At City, he has been turned into more of a system player by Guardiola, keeping his width on left and maintaining control in team with his technique and work rate while ors — mostly Haaland and currently injured Kevin De Bruyne — provide cutting edge.

If Doku ds some of that, City has a serious player on its hands.

n again, Doku was held back for City's biggest game of season thus far — 1-0 loss at Arsenal on Oct. 8 — and only came on midway through second half.

re's a possibility Guardiola prefers to use Bernardo Silva in derby and retains Grealish inste of Doku to limit number of turnovers, from which United can be so dangerous with pace of Marcus Rashford and Rasmus Hojlund up front on counterattack.

Key for City has been return of Rodri in central midfield. Before he was banned for grabbing a Nottingham Forest player around neck, City won seven straight games across Premier League and Champions League. While he was out suspended, City lost all three of its games.

That highlighted Rodri's importance to team and how City struggles to just its playing style without him. strength of Mateo Kovacic and Maus Nunes, summer signings like Doku, is in ir ball-carrying, not necessarily as midfield anchormen. And Guardiola still doesn't trust Kalvin Phillips as his holding midfielder.

It's midfield battle that could be so key on Sunday, with United still in transition in that area after bringing in Mason Mount and Sofyan Amrabat in summer window and Casemiro enduring a slow start to season. Scott McTominay, whose scoring ability makes up for his technical deficiencies, might be preferred again to bring some dynamism for United.

United has been relying on big moments — McTominay's late double against Brentford, Diogo Dalot's edge-of--area winner against Sheffield United, Andre Onana's last-second penalty save against FC Copenhagen — to gain wins in recent weeks, which perhaps papers over cracks of some structural issues in Erik ten Hag's team.

y'll take anor one if it means getting better of its noisy neighbor at weekend.