Manchester City have signed Belgian winger Jeremy Doku from Rennes, the defending Premier League champions announced on Thursday. According to ESPN, the transfer cost City 65 million euros (about $70.1 million).

"Manchester City are delighted to confirm the signing of Jeremy Doku from Stade Rennais on a five-year deal," City said in a statement.

Having joined Rennes from RSC Anderlecht in October 2020, Doku has scored 12 goals and 10 assists for the French club in 92 games. He also made 14 appearances for the Belgian national team, including in the FIFA World Cup in Qatar in 2022.

"This is a great day for me, both personally and professionally," the 21-year-old said. "Manchester City are the best team in world football, so to be joining them is something very special for me and my family."

"Watching City last season was amazing. To win the Treble is the hardest thing in football and they did it. You cannot imagine how exciting it is to be joining this team. I cannot wait to get started. Hopefully I can make the fans happy," he added.

Doku became the third signing City made during the summer transfer window, which will end on September 1. The other two were Mateo Kovacic from Chelsea and Josko Gvardiol from RB Leipzig.

City have continued to waive goodbye to key players since the 2022-23 season was over. The recent departure was Aymeric Laporte who joined Al Nassr. Joao Cancelo is set to sign with Barcelona. Moreover, the reoccurrence of a hamstring injury of Kevin De Bruyne will sideline him for months. All these have motivated the club to sign more players to stay competitive.

City won't sign Lucas Paqueta from West Ham United since the Brazilian midfielder is under investigation for betting. ESPN revealed that City will negotiate with Wolverhampton Wanderers to land Matheus Nunes. Their first bid of 47 million pounds (about $59.1 million) was rejected on Wednesday.