One To Watch
Ismaël Doukouré: Racing's versatile youngster
Born in Lille, he came up through the academy at Valenciennes and joined Racing in January of 2022, his versatility doing much to make him a vital part of a young team, despite having been linked with moves away last summer and this, with the feeling mutual, as he told l'Equipe recently "I had been hoping to leave for two transfer windows, I wanted to progress further, in a new league. They wanted me to extend (his contract runs until June 2026), we didn't agree on that, but I don't have a problem with that."
Objectif atteint Euro 2025 ✅ pic.twitter.com/BXjRKXsMA1
— Ismaël Doukouré (@IsmaDoukoure) October 15, 2024
It's true that Europe's biggest clubs have had their eye on the France U-21 star for some time -- even dating to his days with Valenciennes, there were strong rumours linking him to Leicester and Arsenal among others, owing both to his performances for his cub but also fro Gérard Baticle's U-21s, having recently helped Les Espoirs qualify for the European Championships next summer. Having become a regular on the heels of the Olympics, he averred, "I'm hungry, I want to keep playing and represent my country."
At Racing, despite being unhappy about the situation at the time, with former manager Patrick Vieira imploring him to stay, he has buckled down and become a vital part of Liam Rosenior's fluid approach. Initially cast a centre back, he's also filled in at right back, and has more recently instilled himself as a first-choice central midfielder, doing the yeoman's work while young Brazilian sensation Andrey Santos joins the attack.
In a recent win over Marseille, Doukouré's talents were on full display, limiting the play of Amine Harit and Adrien Rabiot with aplomb while in the team's draw against Lens, his play even allowed Rosenior the confidence to replace a defender with a striker, such is his workrate. That tactical flexibility, so often rare in a young team, especially one that plays in a high-octane fashion, is down in no small part to Doukouré, whose versatility and experience has been a boon to his young team.
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