The 24-year-old winger joined Anderlecht’s youth system and opted to stay with the Belgian side even after a move to England was a possibility because relocating to Merseyside “didn’t feel right” at the time and he felt he’d have more first team opportunities if he stayed where he was.

He told FourFourTwo magazine: “You could only sign a contract when you were 16 – at 15, Anderlecht wanted me to sign, a lot of teams were interested and I went to visit Liverpool.

“I spoke with Jurgen Klopp, with Sadio Mane and in the end, the decision was up to me.

“It didn’t feel right at that point. In England at that time, it wasn’t like it is now, where a lot of players from that young age go into the first team and are already performing.

“I felt like I’d have more chance to be in the first team quicker at Anderlecht and build my carer up from there.

“If I as performing, they’d come again one day.

“That was my mentality, ad I think I as right.”

Doku made the move to Manchester City in 2023 after a conversation with manager Pep Guardiola reassured him of his future.

He said: “I wanted to play and I wanted to be sure that If I joined City, would I just be there to be there, or do they really count on me?

“But he showed his interest in me, which made me comfortable signing.

“I had a trajectory in my mind when I was at Anderlecht: Go from there to a team in the middle who would bring me to the top – then, City had just won the Treble, so there was no team more at the top than that!

“That was my goal and it worked out, but I’m not the one directing my plan. It’s directed from above – I’m just living it.”