Jérémy Doku is the player who makes this version of Belgium feel less like the end of the golden generation and more like the beginning of something new. Kevin De Bruyne is still the brain, Romelu Lukaku is still the old reference point if he is healthy, and Thibaut Courtois is still the safety net. But Doku is the chaos. He is the player who can receive the ball on the wing, face up a defender, and instantly turn a controlled match into a panic.
At 23, Doku already has 41 caps and seven goals for Belgium, and Transfermarkt values him at $76.4m, the highest mark in the current Belgian pool. He is listed primarily as a left winger, but he can play on either side, which provides coach Rudi Garcia some flexibility.
His World Cup qualifying campaign demonstrates his danger. In September, he scored twice and assisted another goal in Belgium’s 6-0 win over Kazakhstan, including one goal where he burst past the defense before finishing from a tight angle. Then, in the 7-0 win over Liechtenstein that clinched Belgium’s place, he scored twice again and added an assist for Charles De Ketelaere.
Doku has been the focal point for Manchester City’s offense for much of this season, helping lead their push for another title that ultimately fell just short. He delivered 10 goals and 11 assists across all competitions for City and continually forced defenses to send multiple defenders at him, bending them out of shape and opening up space for Erling Haaland to cause havoc.
That production matters because Belgium are in a transition. They can no longer rely on Eden Hazard to carry the ball through pressure, and De Bruyne, brilliant as he still is, cannot be expected to create everything by himself for 90 minutes. Doku gives them a different kind of threat: not just passing creativity, but physical disruption. He forces double teams, creates cutback lanes, draws fouls, and makes defenders backpedal in a way that opens space for De Bruyne, De Ketelaere, Lukaku or whoever else is in the front line. He was a menace that the US team couldn’t figure out in their recent friendly with Belgium.
Belgium’s group with Egypt, Iran and New Zealand should give Doku room to make an early impact. Egypt and Iran can both sit in, stay compact and make games frustrating, which is exactly where a winger who can beat the first defender becomes valuable. New Zealand are the opponent Belgium should control, but even there, Doku’s ability to stretch the field could keep the attack from becoming stale.
Doku does not need to be Belgium’s most complete player to be their most disruptive one. If he is loose, confident and making good decisions after the dribble, Belgium’s attack can look dangerous enough to scare better teams. If he is just running into traffic, Belgium may start to look like an older team searching for ideas. In a squad caught between generations, Doku might be the player who decides whether Belgium are still living off the past or actually building the next version. He will certainly be one of the most electric players for neutral fans to watch at this summer’s tournament.