Désiré Doué: Why Bayern Munich and PSG have bid for French sensation

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Offers of €60m & €55m 

Désiré Doué is destined to spark a transfer battle this summer between some of European football’s biggest clubs. The 19-year-old is a phenomenal talent and he was monitored regularly last season during an impressive campaign with Rennes in Ligue 1. 

France has produced a phenomenal amount of talented players across the last decade and Doué is the latest star on the conveyor belt. Doué is a supremely skillful winger with the ability to beat defenders at will and he produces a calmness in possession that has attracted attention for major clubs. Bayern Munich and PSG are the frontrunners to sign Doué with both European giants reportedly submitting offers this week, while Premier League rivals Arsenal, Tottenham and Manchester United all have Doué on their shortlists this summer – but who will win the race for the 15th teenager in the world? 

How good is Désiré Doué?

Attackers are increasingly judged based on their statistics due to the prevalence and accessibility of stats. In terms of goals and assists, Doué’s numbers aren’t remarkable with just ten goal contributions – four goals and six assists – in 43 appearances last season. But Doué absolutely passes the eye test as anybody that’s watched him can identify that he’s a phenomenal talent. He’s reminiscent of Neymar or Jadon Sancho with how comfortable his ability to manipulate his body and with how comfortable he looks on the ball – he ranked 4th in Ligue 1 last season for dribbles per 90 (8.87). Doué is also naturally two footed and can play on either wing, although he predominantly played from his preferred position on the left for Rennes last season. 

“In Rennes, Désiré Doué is regarded as one of the best prospects in a while, probably on par with Ousmane Dembélé and Eduardo Camavinga,” Ronan Caroff, French area manager at Transfermarkt said. “He got his first pro game at 17 years and two months old, and since then has regularly shown great promise. Especially last winter, with two goals and five assists from December to February, when he got a lot of trust from newly appointed manager Julien Stephan. He’s creative, agile with the ball and possesses the versatility to play in various attacking positions. He ticks a lot of interesting boxes. Of course, at his age, there are still some parts to iron out, like he might keep the ball too much and that ends sometimes in a bad pass, but the scale is leaning to the pros rather than the cons.”

How much will Désiré Doué cost?

Doué is Rennes’ prized asset with his market value standing at €30m after it doubled across last season. While there’s an acceptance that Doué will depart this summer, Rennes will hold out for a fee in excess of his market value and will hope to spark a bidding war as there’s multiple interested parties. As the graphic below illustrates, Rennes have developed some exceptional talent in recent years with Jérémy Doku’s move to Manchester City last summer for €60m was their record sale.

 “Rennes won’t play in European competition next season for the first time in six years,” Caroff added. “Team is not in financial trouble, but for sure now their main talents will aim for higher grounds. With two years left on his contract, buying teams can’t expect a bargain. Jérémy Doku’s sale last season for €60m probably set a precedent for Rennes and they will aim for a big fee, especially as there’s lots of interest.” In June, Rennes president Olivier Cloarec admitted that Doué was attracting interest, admitting: “Obviously, we’d like to keep him, but we know he’s been followed for a long time by the biggest European clubs, and that won’t change this summer. I’m not talking about numbers; we’ll see based on the offers and the market,”

Who are favourites to sign Désiré Doué?

PSG remain favourites to sign Doué with recent reports in France suggesting that the Rennes winger has informed club chiefs of his preference to join the Parisian club. It’s been widely reported this week that PSG have submitted a €60m offer for Doué this week, which is understood to meet Rennes’ asking price. The Ligue 1 champions need to replace Kylian Mbappé after his move to Real Madrid and Doué would add to their impressive collection of French attacking talent, alongside Dembele, Bradley Barcola and Randal Kolo Muani.

While PSG appear in the driving seat, Bayern Munich are also firmly in the race for the winger and it’s been suggested that the Bundesliga have also submitted a bid of €55m plus bonuses. Bayern are embracing a new era under the guidance of Vincent Kompany and they’ve already added an exciting French winger this summer with Michael Olise arriving from Crystal Palace. There remains interest from English Premier League clubs in the Rennes star with Tottenham, Arsenal and Manchester United are linked earlier this summer but no offers have arrived yet from those clubs.