Doku reveals he turned down teenage Liverpool move after talks with Klopp and Mane

Jeremy Doku turned down the chance to join Liverpool as a 15-year-old after personal conversations with then-manager Jurgen Klopp and forward Sadio Mane, the Manchester City winger has revealed. Doku, who moved to City from Rennes for £55 million in 2023, decided instead to remain at Anderlecht and develop through their first team.

“You could only sign a contract when you were 16,” Doku explained. “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.”

The Belgian winger, who made his senior debut for Anderlecht at 16, said the prospect of moving abroad at such a young age did not sit right with him — and that he believed staying in Brussels offered a clearer route to first-team football.

“It didn’t feel right at that point,” he said. “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 career up from there. If I was performing, they’d come again one day. That was my mentality, and I think I was right.”

Anderlecht also arranged for former striker Romelu Lukaku to record a video message for Doku, drawing on his own experience of starting his career in Belgium before moving abroad. Doku acknowledged the gesture but was clear that his mind was already made up.

“People sometimes say that’s the reason why I stayed, but at that stage I didn’t need someone to tell me what to do,” Doku said. “Romelu gave me advice — my decision was already made, but it confirmed it. The money was bigger at Liverpool, but my decision was clear. I wanted to stay at Anderlecht, and here I am now.”

Doku’s path from Anderlecht to Rennes and then to the Premier League with City ultimately vindicated the call he made as a teenager. Now established as one of Europe’s most dangerous wide players, his story offers a rare glimpse into the quiet, high-stakes decisions that shape careers long before the transfer fees and headlines arrive.