Coach raves about ‘amazing’ 17-year-old Liverpool prospect, after what he did last night

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Liverpool youngster Ben Doak is continuing to earn universal praise for his electric performances.

The 17-year-old is one of the Reds’ most exciting talents in years. Having already made the breakthrough to Jurgen Klopp’s first-team, Doak is now pushing for a senior international call-up, too.

And according to The Scotsman, that push went up another level last night. They claim that the flying winger was being watched for his country’s U21 side by senior manager Steve Clarke, who is reportedly considering Doak’s selection.

Having won and then scored a penalty for his team, the Liverpool youngster was withdrawn on 62 minutes. Clarke is said to have ‘swiftly headed for the exit’ once Doak was no longer on the pitch.

Asked about the possibility of Ben being included in Clarke’s squad for Tuesday’s game against France, U21 coach Scott Gemmill raved about the ‘amazing’ young forward.

“That’s Steve’s decision but we speak about it all the time and he knows he can take a player from me anytime he wants,” said the coach. “He and his staff will decide when that time is.

“Everyone’s excited to see Ben and we all agree that his potential is enormous and he is doing very well. We’ve all got a massive responsibility to help him fulfil that potential. It’s amazing to see such a young player who can excite the fans – but he wasn’t the only one tonight.”

Doak dazzles again

You can understand why Doak hasn’t been called into the Scotland senior side already. Good though he has been, the former Celtic star has only played eight times for Liverpool.

Nevertheless, it’s already clear that he’s going to be a top player. He’s obviously going to be in the first-team for his country at some point, so why put it off?

Aside from his goal last night, The Herald claim that Doak ‘dazzled’ for the U21s. He usually does.

If he does get the call-up for Tuesday, it will ironically be in-place of his Liverpool teammate and mentor Andy Robertson.

Robbo looks set for a spell on the side-lines having picked up a shoulder injury on Thursday evening.

It would have been lovely to see the Reds left-back introducing his much younger colleague to the set-up. But if Doak gets the call now, that isn’t going to happen.

Regardless, the two look sure to be teammates for club and country for years to come. At 17, there is of course plenty of time for all that, but Doak is in a hurry.