Jurgen Klopp says the development of Liverpool youngster Ben Doak has been a ‘joy to watch’ recently.
Doak is one of the Reds’ biggest prospects right now. Having joined from Celtic last year, the 17-year-old has already made the breakthrough to the first team.
And speaking to the We Are Liverpool Podcast today, Klopp suggested that he’s really excited for what is to come from the winger.
“Ben Doak, still 17, but he is just a joy to watch!” said the Liverpool boss.
“With all the little struggles he has with losing the ball here & there, but the bravery, speed and the power is so cool to see.”
Plenty more to come from young Ben this season.
Klopp raves about Doak progress
A lot of young talents obviously come and go from the Liverpool academy. Many of the most talked about youngsters are the ones who end up never making it at the club longterm.
Doak doesn’t have the look of a player who’s going anywhere anytime soon, though.
The Scotland U21 international does have the benefit of being brought to the club from elsewhere, of course. Having seen him doing well up at Celtic, Liverpool had a clear plan for him.
Doak has probably made a bit of a mockery of that plan. After slotting into the U18s last year, the Reds perhaps hadn’t expected him to make it to the senior squad quite so quickly. Nevertheless, an eventual first team spot had clearly always been the expectation.
Now that he’s making good on that prediction, the real challenge will be staying there.
A clear favourite of Jurgen’s, Doak can expect some game time in the Europa League next season. If he can do well when given the chance, there’s a spot open as Mohamed Salah’s understudy while he’s away at AFCON in January.
So far, the young Scot has taken each and every opportunity thrown his way. Keep on that trajectory and the sky is the limit. Klopp knows it, and he’s rightly excited.
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