Jeremy Doku Signs Long-Term Deal with Manchester City Until 2031
Jeremy Doku has become the latest pillar of Manchester City’s new era, agreeing a long-term contract that will keep him at the Etihad Stadium until 2031.
The Belgium winger, signed from Rennes for £55.4m in 2023, is set to have his extended deal confirmed next week, with club sources indicating the 24-year-old has committed the prime of his career to City.
He is not alone. Doku is the fourth player to sign fresh terms this summer, following Phil Foden, Josko Gvardiol and Abdukodir Khusanov in tying their futures to a squad being reshaped after Pep Guardiola’s departure.
Doku’s first season in Manchester underlined why City moved so aggressively for him. He played 48 times, scored eight goals and injected pace and chaos into a side that still managed to win both the FA Cup and Carabao Cup in Guardiola’s final campaign. At a club already stacked with attacking options, he forced his way into the conversation and now into the long-term plan.
Gonzalez digs in as questions swirl
While Doku settles in for the long haul, Nico Gonzalez finds himself in a very different kind of spotlight.
The midfielder arrived from Porto for £50m last January, a significant investment in a player expected to grow into a central role. Instead, his first full season has been uneven. Forty-one appearances in all competitions suggest trust; the pattern of his minutes tells a more complicated story. He drifted in and out of the starting XI, never quite locking down a permanent place.
Even so, his high points have been impossible to ignore. His stunning winner in the FA Cup semi-final against Southampton remains one of the defining moments of City’s domestic cup double. He calls it “a good match”. For City, it was a reminder of the talent they paid for.
That inconsistency fuelled suggestions he could be moved on just 19 months after joining. Gonzalez has pushed back hard.
"I'm happy here," he said when asked directly about his future. "I don't want to leave and I think the club wants me to stay. I haven't seen anything but I'm happy here.
"When I play I think I do a really good job. A good example was the semi-final of the FA Cup when I did a good match. Every chance I got, I tried my best.
"The final of the FA Cup I was out but we won so it was an amazing day for me. If we win, I'm happy. My dream is to win trophies.
"If I don't play any matches and we win the Champions League next year, I will be so happy."
His pre-season usage backs up the idea that he remains in the frame. Gonzalez has featured in both friendlies so far, against Inter Milan and a K-League XI, as new manager Enzo Maresca assesses his options.
Record fee, quiet window
For a club of City’s resources, this has been a curiously restrained summer.
With the second week of August approaching, only one signing is expected to walk straight into the first XI: Elliot Anderson. The England international has arrived from Nottingham Forest for a club-record £116m and looks the natural successor to Bernardo Silva, who left at the end of his contract and joined Real Madrid.
Around that headline deal, the activity has been far more low key. Teenage winger Jeremy Monga has come in from Leicester and is likely to be eased through the academy rather than thrown into the first team. Goalkeeper Pierce Charles and winger Mathys Detourbet have both immediately gone out on loan, moves that speak to long-term planning rather than instant impact.
Maresca, speaking on Tuesday from South Korea, where City are spending pre-season, did not hide the fact that more business is needed. He revealed director of football Hugo Viana and chief executive Ferran Soriano had flown out to join the tour and admitted bluntly: "we need to something" in the market.
The message from above is more measured. Senior figures at City accept they have not been as active as initially hoped, but insist they remain “relaxed” and have full “trust” in their transfer strategy.
They point to the winter window as proof of that planning. Deals for Antoine Semenyo and Marc Guehi, both long-term targets, were brought forward from this summer. Both have already made a positive impact, easing some of the pressure to overhaul the squad now.
Inside the club, the squad is being described as “young” and “exciting”, a group that already delivered both domestic cups last season. That picture will be strengthened further by the return of 20-year-old Brazilian Vitor Reis from a season-long loan at Girona, with expectations that he will now step into the first-team environment.
Big decisions still to come
The calm at board level does not mean the situation is settled.
Rodri remains without a new contract and is attracting serious attention from both Real Madrid and Barcelona. Losing the midfielder who has been the heartbeat of City’s recent success would represent a seismic shift, and his future hangs over the rest of the window.
Tijjani Reijnders, another midfielder, is more likely to move on, with Nottingham Forest among the clubs interested. Out wide, Savinho is open to leaving, with Tottenham exploring a move, although talks have yet to turn into anything concrete.
City’s stance is clear: if key players depart, replacements will come. One in, one out.
Targets are already in focus. There is interest in Chelsea’s Pedro Neto, while negotiations continue for Lille’s Moroccan midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi and Marseille goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli. None of those deals is over the line yet, but the framework of City’s next evolution is visible.
For now, the mood around the Etihad is one of controlled assurance rather than urgency. Doku is locked in until 2031, Foden and Gvardiol are secured, Anderson has arrived for a record fee, and a young core is being trusted to grow.
The questions that remain are sharper: can City keep Rodri, and how bold will they be if they cannot?
