Jeremy Doku has only been at Manchester City for eight months, but his time can be divided into four chapters. There was the concerning debut against Fulham, when he managed to look out of place despite the team winning 5-1 and admitted that he was "frustrated" not to have contributed.

Then there was the rip-roaring six-week period when he put Jack Grealish in the shade with a series of thrilling performances. got his first goal against West Ham, scored and assisted in the Champions League at RB Leipzig, was electric against Brighton and then was ridiculously good against Bournemouth, setting up four goals and scoring one to set FPL fans' hearts racing.

Then he injured his hamstring against Tottenham and was out for a month. He scored on his return against Huddersfield Town, but then a long and difficult period set in. He drifted in and out of the team, either starting on the bench or being the first player to be taken off. Almost five months passed without him contributing to a goal.

But now the tricky Belgian is writing a thrilling final chapter of his topsy-turvy debut campaign with City, finding a new lease of life as a secret weapon that Pep Guardiola has in his back pocket, ready to unleash just when opponents think they are about to contain his side.

Terrorising defenders again

Doku broke his long drought of goals and assists by teeing up Phil Foden's strike against Aston Villa earlier this month. He then filled his boots in his next fixture against Luton, having a hand in all of City's goals in the 5-1 thrashing, including earning a penalty, grabbing the fourth goal himself by terrorising the defence with an awe-inspiring dribble and then laying off the ball for Josko Gvardiol's thumping finish.

But what he did next was arguably more valuable to City, and proof that he can have a vital say in the club's bid to win a fourth consecutive league title and another FA Cup.

Twisting his way through Madrid

Guardiola turned to Doku when City were losing 1-0 at home to Real Madrid. Grealish had been performing well, but Guardiola needed something extra, and Doku delivered.

His unpredictable runs and capacity to cause chaos got underneath Madrid's skin, and within four minutes City were level. It was one of his forays into the box which unsettled Antonio Rudiger and led to him gifting Kevin De Bruyne the equaliser.

As City dominated extra-time before falling to Madrid on penalties, Doku was the thorn in their side, probing down the left and twisting Dani Carvajal inside out.

'Changed the game'

Three days later at Wembley against Chelsea, Guardiola pulled the same trick, removing Grealish for Doku. The winger gave an exhausted-looking and previously toothless City side the edge, opening Chelsea up.

After fashioning one chance of his own and another for De Bruyne with his trademark dribbling, Doku lit the fuse for Bernardo Silva to score the elusive goal. But this time he did it with a clever pass to release De Bruyne, who eventually worked it to Bernardo at the back post.

When Guardiola was asked about Doku's impact after the game, his face lit up. "He changed the game, the same as Madrid when he created a lot of chances," the coach said.

'Massively important'

Guardiola then revealed how he and Doku had worked together to help the player not only rediscover the sparkling form he had shown in the autumn, but also develop another side of his game. In true Guardiola style, the coach managed to praise his player while also not glossing over the weaknesses in his game.

"Jeremy has made a step. When he arrived, after West Ham, I was like 'oh my God, unbelievable player', and until his injury he was at a top level," Guardiola said. "Always when he came from the bench the impact was not good. From the start was good, the bench not good. We talked about that, how he has to make an impact when the players are more tired and he has a special quality one against one.

"Jeremy is an exceptional player one on one, close to the box. He is young and has to improve many, many things, but in the final third he is massively important for us."

Solving a dilemma

Since Doku arrived from Rennes last summer to replace the departed Riyad Mahrez, Guardiola has been left with an awkward choice, whether to start Grealish or Doku. Grealish has had a difficult campaign due to injuries and a loss of form, but now he looks back to the player who was so crucial to City's treble triumph. He is a selfless team player who gets the best out of his colleagues, his intelligent, controlling play allowing his team to attack together.

But by becoming this new type of player, so different to the all-action playmaker he was for Aston Villa, Grealish has lost some of the verve and daring which made him such an exciting prospect. Doku has audacity in spades, but sometimes forgets to use his head, playing his own game rather than for the team.

But now Guardiola seems to have stumbled upon a solution. Start Grealish, control the game and wear the opponent down, then bring on Doku and go for the kill.

"I did it in the last two games, but it doesn’t mean it will happen in the next few, we will see what my inspiration comes up with," Guardiola said ahead of City's trip to Brighton. "They both played really good, Jack played good and the impact Jeremy made, everyone saw it."

Unleash the Doku of war

The one question is how much the latest solution can satisfy Grealish and Doku. The two players cost a combined total of more than £150m ($186m) and aspire to be starters for their respective countries at Euro 2024. Doku came to City to start games, and Grealish wants to finish them.

Against weaker opponents, Doku is an attractive choice in the starting XI, but for the more testing matches, Grealish makes more sense. City have six games left to wrap up the title and arguably have the easier run-in compared to rivals Arsenal and Liverpool, but first up is Roberto De Zerbi's Brighton, a game Guardiola has described as "the toughest" of his side's remaining fixtures.

"I know with Roberto how professional he is and he will use all the details to find all the weak spots that we can have, it will be really tough," he said. "They’ll test us in ways we are not used to. In that moment, we have to be strong and patient and at the same time make them uncomfortable – so it might be the toughest."

And the best way to make Brighton uncomfortable might be to stick with the same blueprint that has worked so well over the last week. Start with Grealish, then unleash the Doku of war.