Jeremy Doku has had the privilege of playing alongside Erling Haaland for more than a season at Manchester City.
Playing alongside such superstars and being managed by one of the most high-profile managers in the world in Pep Guardiola would have the two driving factors that led to the Belgian’s move to City.
Watching the way Haaland trains and approaches games would helped Jeremy Doku massively in becoming the player he is today.
Much like Erling Haaland, the former Rennes winger is also incredibly gifted.
But one of the many factors that truly sets the Norwegian international apart from most players in the world is how he trains behind the scenes.
Jack Grealish described Haaland as “boring” simply due to how regimented his lifestyle is, which solely revolves around being in the best possible condition to perform on the pitch.
Photo by Alex Livesey - Danehouse/Getty Images
Photo by Alex Livesey – Danehouse/Getty Images
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Jeremy Doku says Erling Haaland rarely shoots hard in training
As one of the premier number nines in the world, a fundamental aspect of Haaland’s training routine would revolve around finishing drills.
Finishing is an art that requires hours of practice, which the Manchester City striker has put in to become the tremendous goalscorer he has been for a number of years now.
But interestingly, Doku revealed that in training, Haaland rarely shoots the ball hard and saves that for games, choosing to prioritising his placement instead.
Doku told the Premier League’s official YouTube channel: “When we train, he doesn’t shoot hard. He just places the ball in the corners, when he has to shoot hard, he has a hard shot but most of the time, he’s more composed looking for the corners. He’s not a player who shoots from far a lot, most of the time he’s not far from goal and he puts it into the corners.”
Former Arsenal and Manchester United goalscorer Robin van Persie praised Haaland’s finishing for being better than his was which highlights his pinpoint accuracy in front of goal.
While Djibril Cisse lauded Haaland’s finishing as well for being better than Sergio Aguero’s and while some may disagree with such claims, the reason behind the 24-year-old being incredibly clinical must be down to how Doku stated he works on perfecting it.
Bernardo Silva said Erling Haaland has the most powerful shot at Man City
However, there is no question that when Haaland hits a ball, it stays hit.
But one of the reasons why the two-time Premier League winner works diligently on a variety of finishes is to remain efficient when tasked to score goals in a multitude of situations.
However, Bernardo Silva discussed Haaland’s shooting by claiming that it is the most powerful out of any player at Manchester City during an interview in October.
Bernardo said: “I’m between two players. But I’m going here [writes Haaland on a whiteboard].”
“I was going to go between KDB [Kevin De Bruyne] and Erling, yeah.”
Haaland’s relentless drive to become the best possible finisher he can should perhaps drive Doku to practice alongside him as he often finds himself in goalscoring positions as well.