The international break is in full swing and many members of Liverpool’s squad have been in action over the past few days, including promising young talent Ben Doak.
The Reds return to action in the Premier League this weekend when they will face Wolverhampton Wanderers in the early kick-off on Saturday afternoon and Jurgen Klopp will have surely been keeping a close eye on his players who have been out representing their country over the last week.
Dominik Szoboszlai continued to flourish in his performance for Hungary, Andy Robertson captained Scotland at Hampden Park this evening in a 3-1 defeat, whilst both Harvey Elliott and Doak were included in their starting line-ups in the U21s for their respective nations.
The latter put on an outstanding performance for Scotland U21s last night against Spain U21s and was the recipient of huge praise from many for his dominance against his opponents throughout.
Scotland boss Scot Gemmill took the time post-match to wax lyrical about Doak’s contribution, despite the side falling short against one of the highest-ranked teams in their age group:
“It was an exceptional performance from Ben Doak. I would even add that’s there more to come from him. He’s not fully match fit at the moment because of his limited minutes as he is playing for such a good club.”
“Imagine a fully fit Ben Doak! I thought it was a really top performance and hopefully, everyone saw that. Credit to the players for executing the game plan. I am actually not too disappointed because I am really proud of the players.”
Not only that, many Spanish football fans took to Twitter to lavish praise on the 17-year-old for his explosive performance on the international stage, with sports journalist Jonay Amaro in awe of the teenage sensation:
“Ben Doak. Electricity, self-confidence, ball retention and the ability to fall to the side and create danger. The best of the game, honestly. Looking forward to seeing him in a Premier context with Liverpool.”
Our thoughts on Ben Doak’s Liverpool future…
There is no doubt that Doak possesses some hugely promising strengths that could make him a valuable asset to both Klopp and the club in the future, but finds himself currently struggling for game time due to Mohamed Salah’s incredible presence on the right wing.
Indeed, Liverpool supporters will be no strangers to the young talent as he has already made six senior appearances for the Merseyside giants since his arrival from Celtic back in March 2022.
Over his 35 career appearances so far, the Scottish winger has scored 11 goals and registered eight assists, with a goal contribution every 113 minutes – but is yet to tally up a goal or an assist for the Liverpool first team, as per Transfermarkt.
Whilst it would likely be too early and unfair to assess just how much of an impact Doak could make with regular first team football at Anfield, it does provide Klopp with food for thought when tackling the next steps in finding a worthy successor for Salah, depending on whether the Egyptian phenomenon leaves next summer or at the end of his contract.
Not only that, the German coach has named Doak in his Europa League squad today which will definitely motivate the young player to step up and take his opportunities when presented to him over the coming weeks and months on the European stage.
With that being said, the future is looking bright for the talented forward and if he can continue to flourish and polish his craft, there is no reason why he can’t become a regular feature in the Liverpool squad over the rest of the season and beyond.
