My Man City debut stressed me out – so I couldn’t believe what Savinho did

Jeremy Doku is looking forward to seeing more from Savinho after a lively start from the new Manchester City star.

The Brazilian is so far the only new addition to Pep Guardiola’s squad for this year, having impressed on the left wing for Girona last year when they qualified for the Champions League. He came on in the Community Shield against United and played from the start at Chelsea, although he only lasted a half due to an injury scare.

Jeremy Doku was on the opposite flank as he begins his second year at the club, and Guardiola has raised the possibility of playing them both as natural wingers to offer more width than the Blues have had in years. While there was only a brief glimpse of that at Stamford Bridge, Savinho still impressed on the right – where he prefers to play – as he tormented Marc Cucurella before his early substitution.

Doku played his own part in City’s win, but came away impressed by what the new forward has to offer – especially as he recalled his first start for the club when he put in a nervous performance at home to Fulham at the beginning of last season. The Belgian quickly got over that debut, and expects Savinho to get even better as well.

“As a dribbler I like it when players take on their man. Savinho is a player that does that and takes a lot of risks,” he said. “I remember my first game – I was stressed a lot so coming here and starting your first game against Chelsea and putting in that sort of performance… congratulations to him, I respect that a lot and I think there is still more to come from him. We’re very happy to have him with us.”

Doku only returned to training at the beginning of August following his involvements at the European Championship, but started in the Community Shield owing to an injury to Jack Grealish. He still thinks he has levels to improve as well, and will be watching the Chelsea game back to try and get more goals and assists in the future.

“I feel good in this team – I know I have not reached my full potential and there is still a long way to go with a lot of improvement,” he said. “I watch game-by-game to see what I can improve. I’m happy with the performance but I still think I can do better with the final pass.

“I’m going to watch this game back and see what I can improve for the next game. I want to play a big impact and big role in this team. I want to perform every time I get the chance to be on the pitch, to be decisive and get some goals and assists.”