Manchester City winger Jeremy Doku speaks ahead of the FA Cup semi-final on his ambitions to be talked about differently

Jeremy Doku wants to be seen as the best winger in the world – and the Manchester City man knows how to do it.

Doku’s dazzling ability with the ball at his feet was obvious from an early age, and he became one of the youngest debutants in Anderlecht history as a 16-year-old in November 2018. The following season, his new coach Vincent Kompany would tell the teenager that he saw him playing at a club like City, even though Doku struggled to see it himself; he now does not see it as a coincidence that the Blues opted to sign a player so highly rated by their former captain, who is now himself one of the best coaches in the game.

City knew they were getting an explosive talent when they signed Doku in 2023 but they were also aware of the injury battles that had arisen from a player so dependent on acceleration in his game, while there were also concerns over his final product. It was a difficult summer for everyone at the club working out how to move on from a team that had won the Treble and who to move on.

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“It’s not easy because you come from Rennes. I’m sure that they didn’t watch a lot. I’m sure that they didn’t watch a lot of my games in France, my teammates. So maybe they didn’t know me,” he said.

“You have to prove, you have to also show that I deserve to be here. Nothing will be given to you. You have to take it. And that was also my mentality. So I wanted just to show my capabilities, what I’m able to do and that’s what I tried to do.

“Coming into the dressing room, you have to also acknowledge that you play with top quality players. So you also have to raise your standards up and raise your quality up. And I felt like the coach also welcomed me well. The teammates did as well. They were all nice with me. So I fitted in well.

“I think when they buy players, they know which mentality, which characteristics the players have. And also we have a coach that’s very passionate, pushes us every time. We have experienced players that won a lot who are still hungry.

“We have young players that come in this club and know that, oh, this club is used to winning trophies. So we’re all driven by that. We all want to win trophies. We all want to be among the best. If you look at every player here, that’s their goal.

“If you’re there without competition, maybe you will not feel the pressure. But in this club, you know that they always buy players, which is normal, to make the team better. You need to make the team better. You need to make the team competitive and that’s what they have been doing.

“This has been working as well. And for me, that’s fine because at the end of the day, that pushes me as well to work harder to know that, oh, there’s someone in my back that wants to play. There’s someone forward that needs to take his place. But it’s all like, not in a bad way. It’s all in a good way, a healthy competition.”

Doku’s journey at City has, like his dribbling, not been straightforward. Pep Guardiola has called him the best in the world over five metres and he has the ability to produce matchwinning moments against quality opposition – usually Liverpool but also United this season.

His end product and his fitness have both frustrated at different points though, and Guardiola said earlier this season that he didn’t think the winger would ever be a prolific scorer. That is criticism that Doku accepts but is working to improve as he looks to evolve his game in the way that Raheem Sterling did so successfully at City to find ways of scoring simple goals.

“I feel like assists, in that area, I’m fine. I feel like I’m doing well in that area because that doesn’t always depend on you. So key passes and assists, I feel like that area that’s all right. I feel like the goals is more… I have to be more in the areas where you can score easy goals, you know, tap-ins and stuff like that,” he said.

“Sometimes in the game, you get, not distracted, but you don’t realise sometimes what you’re doing and you don’t realise that you’re not in that position where you should be to just score the easy goals. When I look at all my goals even this season, every time dribbles, every time when I do it myself, and I just want to score also, I don’t know, even five tap-ins the season, that makes a big difference.”

Doku has made himself into a valuable part of Guardiola’s starting XI for the biggest games, despite that lack of goals, because of everything else he offers to the team. Rayan Cherki is the only teammate to have more than his eight assists in all competitions and he has left enough defenders dizzy that he is now regularly marked by two if not three defenders when he gets the ball; it is no coincidence that Nico O’Reilly is able to find himself free in the final third when he is playing next to Doku.

With the freedom that he is given to operate in the final third though – and he is, whatever the myth about Guardiola stifling wingers – the 23-year-old knows that goals are the currency he must buy into if he wants to reach his goal of being talked about as one of the best wingers in the world rather than just a promising talent.

“At the end of the day, it’s me, it’s my responsibility to be consistent, to be always unstoppable, to be always difficult to retain and to be always reliable as a player for my team, for my coach, for this club, and that’s what I want to do,” he said.

“You should ask defenders what they think. What do they think? But I’m sure that they would say that, obviously if I score goals, this is a different conversation that we have. A winger needs to score. If I have those goals then I believe that I can get there for sure. 100 per cent.

“I know one versus one, obviously that’s my biggest quality. I’m not going to hide behind it. That’s my biggest quality and that’s my talent. But for sure, goals need to come as well. And I know that if I have goals, yeah, like I said, it’s a different conversation that we’re having.”

If you’re an intense follower of Minnesota Vikings-themed mock drafts, you’ve probably gleaned that the frontrunners to turn purple on Thursday night are two Oregon Ducks: Dillon Thieneman (safety) and Kenyon Sadiq (tight end). But down the stretch of the mock draft cycle, don’t rule out Clemson defensive tackle Peter Woods.

The mock tide shifted late. Woods entered the mix.

Woods has wiggled into a couple of last-minute mocks; he could the guy for Minnesota.

A Clemson DT Emerges as a Real Minnesota Match

Don’t rule a DT for Brian Flores’s defense.

Todd McShay’s Mock

McShay, formerly of ESPN, works for The Ringer now, and he revealed Woods as his Vikings’ mock draft prediction on Wednesday.

He explained, “Woods has been catching a lot of buzz in conversations I’ve been having recently—full circle from earlier in the process—and the league seems to be coming back around on his traits despite a quieter 2025 season. The Vikings run a one-gap scheme under Brian Flores, and Woods fits well there. Plus, they released Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave.”

And you know what? You really can’t fault the logic there. After all, during Flores’s first draft in Miami seven years, he made defensive tackle Christian Wilkins his first pick, a very Woods-esque selection.

PFSN, Too

McShay wasn’t alone. Pro Football Network‘s Cameron Sheath joined him with the Woods pronostication, writing, “Having been beaten to Thieneman, the Vikings pivot to another area of need. Javon Hargrave and Jonathan Allen both left in free agency, and Peter Woods immediately steps into one of those vacant spots as the first defensive tackle off the board.”

“Brian Flores will continue to cook up different disguises and play calls to keep quarterbacks guessing, but he’ll need a strong anchor up front, and Woods certainly provides that.”

Interestingly, Sheath published a 3-Round mock, and this was the Vikings’ haul:

• Peter Woods, Clemson | DT
• A.J. Haulcy, LSU | S
• Logan Jones, Iowa | C
• Devin Moore, Florida | CB

The Case for Woods

If you’re new to the 2026 draft process, Woods is considered the best or second-best defensive tackle in this class, depending on one’s thoughts on Kayden McDonald, a nose tackle from Ohio State. This rookie crop isn’t necessarily known for DT majesty, but Woods and McDonald should find their way off the draft board in the first 40 picks, perhaps both on Thursday night in Round 1.

During his final two seasons at Clemson, Woods recorded 5 sacks and consistently disrupted plays before they could develop. Film analysis reveals him as a disruptive interior defender, utilizing a violent swipe move to shoot gaps and penetrate the backfield with exceptional quickness.

His testing numbers further highlight his impressive movement skills. Woods’ 4.75-second forty-yard dash is remarkably fast for a defensive tackle, aligning perfectly with the quick first step and leverage evident on film.

The burst is contained within his 6’2,” 300-pound frame, making him exceptionally agile for his size.

Bleacher Report‘s Matt Holder on Woods: “Good size with impressive movement skills and quickness for a defensive tackle. Plenty of upper body strength and pop in his hands to stand up offensive linemen and gain control of the block.”

“Also is quick to shoot his hands and keeps his hands tight to protect his chest. Very good at getting off blocks, stack-and-shedding looks easy for him and has a hump move to escape, too. Has the combination of power and movement skills to develop into a quality pass-rusher down the line.”

Holder also issued Jeffery Simmons as Woods’s NFL comp. Not bad.

First DT since Sharrif Floyd?

It’s time for the Vikings to pick a defensive tackle early in a draft. They never do it.

The last time was 13 years ago, when Rick Spielman chose Sharrif Floyd, whose career was cut short by a nasty injury. Since then, Minnesota signed Linval Joseph for six seasons and vacillated between a hodgepodge of defensive tackles.

Most teams take DT swings in the draft more frequently than every 13 years. Minnesota should get with the program and leave this year’s draft with an interior defensive lineman before the end of Friday, especially with Allen and Hargrave off the roster.

Woods will turn 22 next offseason. The guy has youth on his side. There’s also a small chance that the Vikings can trade down from their 18th spot on Thursday night and still draft Woods. His stock is near the end of Round 1, per draft pundits, putting a trade and Woods pick in play.

The Weapon Throw skill in Crimson Desert is one of the more interesting additions to come out of the latest patch, and it works almost exactly like throwing the Leviathan Axe in God of War. The weapon flies out at enemies and can be recalled back, giving the combat a satisfying new layer that was not there before.

It is a Dual-wielding skill, so the setup requires a small adjustment to the loadout before it becomes available. Once that is sorted, the mechanic itself is pretty intuitive. That said, here is how you can perform the Weapon Throw skill in Crimson Desert.

Note: Parts of this article are subjective and based on the author’s views.

Steps to perform Weapon Throw Skill in Crimson Desert

1) Setting up the Dual-wielding

The Weapon Throw skill is only usable while Dual-wielding, so the first thing to do is swap out the shield slot. Open the Equipment Menu and highlight the shield slot in the weapon wheel or inventory. Replace it with a one-handed weapon, something like the Spine of the Earth, or any other one-handed sword or axe that is available.

That second weapon now equips in the left hand, and that is the one that gets thrown. As long as both hands are holding a weapon, the skill is active and ready to use.

Also read: All weapons tier list in Crimson Desert

2) How to throw and recall the weapon

The Weapon Throw Skill in Crimson Desert uses the same controls as Shield Bash. On PS5, that is L1 and R2 together, or the equivalent button on the relevant platform. Press the combination while in combat, and the left-hand weapon launches toward the target.

Recalling the weapon works the same way. Either press the same control combination again to pull it back, or simply walk up to where it landed to retrieve it manually. The recall works in a boomerang style, so timing it right during a fight can keep the pressure on without having to disengage.

Read more: Best early-game weapons in Crimson Desert

Note: While the weapon is out in the field and before it is recalled, the game automatically equips the shield in its place. There is a visible animation of Kliff pulling the shield out mid-combat, which keeps the defensive option active even while the throwing weapon is airborne.

You can check out other game-related guides below: