There is always a clamour for football clubs to sign new players. This is especially the case if a team has had a poor season, say, or just miss out on silverware. It is very much what happens when the transfer window opens, with certain sections of social media sites such as Twitter alight with demands for teams to sign X or Y player.
Good managers, though, have to take an overview of the football club that they are tasked with taking charge of and try to decide what the right approach is for everyone concerned. Would signing new player block the pathway of a talented youngster, for example?
In May of 2023, off the back of arguably the club’s worst season under Jürgen Klopp, there were plenty of people who would’ve signed two-dozen new players if they’d been able to. The German, though, was much more circumspect about the future and one name in particular was on his mind.
He said, “Special boy, really confident, has something nobody else delivers really, this kind of dribbling, this kind of straight-forward bravery, all these kind of things. Technically really good, high speed, super-promising but very young.” Who was he talking about? Ben Doak, of course.
Who Is Ben Doak?
In March of 2022, Ben Doak signed with Liverpool Football Club. The result of his decision to do so was that Celtic, the club where he had trained for several years, were paid £600,000 in compensation.
He was just 16-years-old at the time, having made his professional debut for the Scottish club in January of 2022 when he was substituted on in the 68th minute of a 1-0 win over Dundee United. It didn’t taken him long to make his Liverpool debut, which came on the ninth of November during an EFL Cup match against Derby County at Anfield, which they Reds won.
Doak came on in the 74th minute of the match, which ended up going to penalties. Though he didn’t take one of the penalties, the Reds triumphed 3-2 and Doak impressed those who saw him play. Two days later and he turned 17, with three days after that resulting in the forward signing his first professional contract with Liverpool. The excitement of 2022 didn’t end there, on account of the fact that he made his Premier League debut on the 26th of December in a 3-1 win over Aston Villa, once again capturing the attention of the supporters who were there to see it happen.
Ben Doak
Hopefully he gets more first team football for us next season another super talented youngster #LFC #LiverpoolFC pic.twitter.com/NdLqVt9lY0— Jemo (@JemoLFC) June 22, 2023
A Scottish International
Following in the footsteps of Sir Kenny Dalglish, Graeme Souness and Andy Robertson, Ben Doak is another in the long line of Scottish footballers who have made their mark at Anfield. Having represented the Under-16s Scottish national team, he made his Scottish U17 debut on the second of September 2021.
Not only did he make his first appearance at that level but he also marked it with a goal, scoring against Wales in a 1-1 draw. The U17 team qualified for the UEFA European Under-17 Championship, but Doak sadly missed out on the competition itself due to injury.
In September of 2022, Doak was just 16-years-old when he was included in the squad for the Scotland Under-21s. He came on as a substitute in a match against Northern Ireland, once again getting on the scoresheet.
That made him the youngest ever person to score a goal for the Scotland U21s, showing the promise that he has and the reason why Liverpool were so excited to sign him and, conversely, Celtic were so disappointed to see him leave the club. There were a number of top clubs from around Europe there were chasing him, meaning the Reds did well to sign him up.
A Natural Winger
When it comes to where he plays, Doak is naturally a winger. His speed and intelligence on the ball means that he does well when outside and there are some that see him as a natural successor to Mohamed Salah in the right-forward position. The fact that he’s so good on the ball and direct in his attacking means that he’s thrilling to watch, with the reality being that defenders don’t like to come up against him. Obviously he’s still inexperienced, which means that he’s often brushed off the ball relatively easily, but has worked hard in order to ensure that won’t happen long-term.
I reckon we get Chiesa in after Salah tbh, unless Ben Doak has got onto a level in which he can consistently perform at the top
— EW17 (@E_Wright17) June 22, 2023
He is a player with a huge amount of transferable skills, which means that there are numerous positions that he can play successfully. There is certainly a feeling in some quarters that he has the ability to play as an attacking wing-back or a full-back, if it was necessary.
Trent Alexander-Arnold was nominally a midfielder in his youth, but converted to full-back in order to get into the first-team. If he were to move into the midfield on a more permanent basis, might Doak find room in the Liverpool squad by replacing at the back? It isn’t the wildest theory out there.
