Scottish wonderkid Ben Doak has been tipped to maintain his recent push for more first-team action at Liverpool.
Doak moved to Anfield from Scottish giants Celtic in the summer and has already made five appearances for Jurgen Klopp’s side – all at the tender age of just 17.
Doak was in stunning form as he inspired Liverpool’s Under-21 side to an emphatic 7-1 win over Leicester City Under-21s in a game where he scored twice and then assisted a further two.
Speaking about the youngster, Liverpool academy coach Barry Lewtas said, “We work closely with the first-team and our job is to develop the players, put them in an environment where they can flourish.
“And hopefully then, with the support we have from Pep [Lijnders, assistant-manager] and Vitor [Matos, elite development coach] in particular, we are able to move boys across.
“Ben has done ever so well. It’s okay getting an opportunity and earning it but I think Ben has grabbed it and done ever so well.
“So, it’s up to him to maintain that. But he’s a real focused boy and I’m sure that he will do.”
Despite his emergence in the first team picture, Doak’s immediate focus will be on Liverpool’s Champions League campaign in the UEFA Youth League. Doak has been an important player already for the club at that level in the group stage and the management team will be hoping he continues on that path.
Lewtas added, “Ben was a really important player for us in the group stage, away at Napoli to get it going and then when we went down to 10 men against Rangers – and I think there was a bit of extra motivation there for him as well! He was a real threat for us.”
There’s a lot of buzz and excitement surrounding Doak and has been ever since his name was being talked about at Celtic. Liverpool fans will be hoping that the youngster will kick on and get more opportunities to impress and continue to build an already burgeoning reputation.