Jeremy Doku Signs Long-Term Contract with Manchester City

Jeremy Doku has become the latest pillar of Manchester City’s new era, committing his future to the club with a long-term contract that runs until 2031.

The Belgium winger, signed from Rennes for £55.4m in 2023, has agreed an extension that will keep him at Etihad Stadium well into his prime, with an official announcement expected next week. At 24, City believe his best years are still ahead of him – and they want them in sky blue.

Doku’s first full season in Manchester underlined why. He featured 48 times in all competitions, scored eight goals and brought a raw, direct edge to a side that still managed to sweep up both the FA Cup and Carabao Cup in Pep Guardiola’s final campaign in charge. In a team famed for control, he offered chaos, and City clearly liked what they saw.

He is the fourth player to sign fresh terms this summer, following Phil Foden, Josko Gvardiol and Abdukodir Khusanov in tying his future to the club. The message from the Etihad is obvious: the core of this squad is being locked in for the long haul.

Gonzalez fights for his place

Not everyone’s position feels quite as secure, but Nico Gonzalez is not backing away from the fight.

The midfielder arrived from Porto for £50m last January, a statement signing at the time, yet has struggled to turn that fee into a guaranteed starting place. He played 41 times last season and produced one of City’s standout moments of the year with a stunning winner in the FA Cup semi-final against Southampton, but his campaign lurched between spells in the XI and stretches on the bench.

This summer, the rumours began to swirl: City might cut their losses, move him on after just 19 months. Gonzalez, though, has pushed back firmly.

"I'm happy here," he said when asked about his future. "I don't want to leave and I think the club wants me to stay. I haven't seen anything but I'm happy here.

"When I play I think I do a really good job. A good example was the semi-final of the FA Cup when I did a good match. Every chance I got, I tried my best.

"The final of the FA Cup I was out but we won so it was an amazing day for me. If we win, I'm happy. My dream is to win trophies.

"If I don't play any matches and we win the Champions League next year, I will be so happy."

His stance is clear: he will accept the competition, even the frustration, if it ends with medals in his hands.

Gonzalez has featured in both of City’s pre-season friendlies so far, against Inter Milan and a K-League XI, a small but telling sign that new boss Enzo Maresca is not ready to discard him.

A quiet window, a record signing

For a club used to shaping summers, City have been unusually subdued in the market as the second week of August approaches.

Only one senior signing looks set to walk straight into the first XI: Elliot Anderson, recruited from Nottingham Forest for a club-record £116m. The England international, 23, arrives with the expectation that he will fill the void left by Bernardo Silva, who departed at the end of his contract and joined Real Madrid.

Around him, the recruitment has been more about the edges and the future. Teenage winger Jeremy Monga has been brought in from Leicester and is likely to start in the academy. Goalkeeper Pierce Charles and winger Mathys Detourbet have both already gone out on loan, their development outsourced while the first team gears up for another title push.

Maresca, speaking on Tuesday, made no attempt to hide the fact that City still have work to do. He revealed director of football Hugo Viana and chief executive Ferran Soriano had flown to South Korea, where the squad are based for pre-season, and admitted bluntly: "we need to something" in the transfer market.

Behind the scenes, there is an acceptance that business has been slower than planned. Yet senior figures insist they remain "relaxed" and retain full "trust" in their strategy. This is not a club scrambling; it is one that believes its main surgery was done early.

Antoine Semenyo and Marc Guehi, both signed in January, were long-term targets whose deals were accelerated from this summer. Their impact has been positive, and inside the Etihad those winter moves are being counted as part of the current rebuild.

Young, restless, and wanted

The squad City have assembled is being described internally as "young" and "exciting" – a group that already delivered both domestic cups last season and still has room to grow.

Vitor Reis, the 20-year-old Brazilian, returns from a season-long loan at Girona and is expected to step into the first-team picture. His promotion adds another energetic option to a squad that has quietly been lowered in age over the past two years.

The calm, though, is not absolute. Rodri, the heartbeat of City’s midfield, has yet to sign a new contract and is attracting serious attention from Real Madrid and Barcelona. Losing him would rip a hole through Maresca’s plans and force a radical rethink of City’s structure.

Tijjani Reijnders, another midfielder, is more likely to depart, with Nottingham Forest among the clubs interested. On the flanks, Savinho is open to leaving, with Tottenham exploring a move, even if nothing concrete has emerged yet.

City’s stance is straightforward: if someone goes, someone comes in. This is not a summer for shrinking the squad.

They have interest in Chelsea’s Pedro Neto and are in talks for Lille’s Moroccan midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi and Marseille goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli. None of those deals are over the line, but they underline the club’s intent to refresh rather than overhaul.

For now, the dominant mood at the Etihad is one of controlled assurance. Doku has committed, Foden and Gvardiol are locked in, Anderson has arrived for a record fee, and a clutch of young talents are pushing through.

The transfer market will test that composure in the coming weeks. The real question is whether this young, evolving City can turn continuity and calm into another season of trophies – or whether one big departure will force them into a late, frantic chase.