Who is Desire Doue? The Rennes wonderkid following Dembele and Camavinga’s footsteps

7 Oct 2022 13:59 BST
6 min read

Rennes' Desire Doue became the first player born in 2005 to score a European goal for a club in one of the 'Big 5' leagues — © ProShots

Desire Doue is set to follow the likes of Ousmane Dembele and Eduardo Camavinga in becoming a major star to be grown in the Rennes academy system.

Dembele and Camavinga are now with Barcelona and Real Madrid respectively, and there are hopes that the teenage midfielder can follow in their footsteps.

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The 17-year-old is in his first season as a professional and notched a game-winning goal in the Europa League against Dynamo Kyiv in just his second European appearance. In netting, he became the first player born in 2005 to score for a club from the ‘Big 5’ leagues in continental competition, beating Bayern Munich’s Mathys Tel, who came through the Bretons’ youth ranks with him before winning a big-money move to the Bundesliga champions in the summer.

So just what is all the fuss about?

What position does Desire Doue play?

Desire Doue is a central midfielder who is typically given an attacking role to play. He typically plays as a No.8 or a No.10.

How good is Desire Doue?

Doue has had limited minutes in the Rennes first team, so just how good he can be at a senior level is unclear, but what it evident is that he has the capacity to have a very good career. Anyone breaking into a European-level team having just turned 17 must be respected for their skills.

Certainly, head coach Bruno Genesio is excited by what he sees from the teenager, whose big brother Guela is also on Rennes’ books, but is wary of his young charge getting carried away.

When asked about the player only minutes after Doue had scored an important winner against Dynamo Kyiv in the Europa League, the coach replied: “He will have to improve his decision making very quickly. But he has a lot of self-confidence, which allowed him to go and win the ball and to score the goal. He’s a very young player, but doing what he has been doing for some time, at his age, shows a very high level of potential.”

Desire Doue.

Remember the name, etc.pic.twitter.com/Vgp1B3WmaD
— Robin Bairner (@RBairner) October 7, 2022

But if his decision making is under question, the other elements of his game are starting to come together. His repuation is as a player with a very good quality of passing, while he is also capable of beating his defender, making him difficult to play against.

“Technically and physically, he’s above average,” Rennes sporting director Florian Maurice has said. “Everything is possible for him. It’s up to him to go and find playing time.”

Given first-team opportunities, it is hoped that he will learn to simplify his game to reach his potential.