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Wolverhampton, UK. 17th Jan, 2023. Ben Doak of Liverpool during the The FA Cup match at Molineux, Wolverhampton.

Liverpool have the Scottish Messi in their ranks – & Jurgen Klopp’s already in love

Michael Lee •

Jurgen Klopp is currently in the process of building his second great Liverpool side – & many will feel that one teenage baller from Scotland will be integral if the Reds are to match their Champions League and Premier League success from the late 2010s.

Since defeat to Real Madrid in the 2022 Champions League final, Klopp has seen the core of his first great Liverpool side begin to disintegrate.

Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and James Milner have all left Anfield. Midfielders Jordan Henderson and Fabinho are on the verge of exiting the club too.

But Mohamed Salah remains at Liverpool, ducking past defenders and whipping the ball beyond the dive of despairing goalkeepers. But Salah is over 30, meaning the club must plan for a future without the Egyptian.

Luckily, the Reds have landed on their feet with Ben Doak. Seriously. This lad could become the best Scottish export to England since whiskey, shortbread and a healthy disregard for the ruling elite.

Signed from Celtic for £600,000 in 2022, Doak made a handful of substitute appearances last season as Liverpool looked to find the formula to their severe bout of winter flu.

The 17-year-old acquitted himself well, earning his place at Liverpool’s pre-season training camp in Germany this month. And enough evidence has emerged to suggest Doak is already deserving of a first-team place in the near future.

The tricky winger can be seen dancing past some of Anfield’s biggest stars, with cheerleader and Scotland captain Andy Robertson vocally leading the praise for the youngster.

As Doak left his team-mates gasping for air and contemplating a change of career after being on the receiving end of Doak’s dribbling masterclass, the left-back can be heard shouting his appreciation for the star.

What’s notable is that Robertson doesn’t sound at all surprised; he’s clearly been around the block enough to know that Doak is the real deal.

Further footage emerged Doak’s precocious ability, with the youngster latching on to Robertson’s cross like a wild cheetah eyeing a lagging gazelle in the South African savannah.

The result was just as brutal, if thankfully purely metaphorical. The Reds youngster hammered the ball into the net and received the acclaim of his countryman as they both trotted back to the halfway line.

Klopp can be heard shouting his words of encouragement saying: “Wow, the present and future of Scotland, I can’t believe it.”

He told the official Liverpool website in pre-season: “So, there are now not too many new players but [we have] a lot of young players, of course, in and young players for who the door is open, who can play a different role next season.

“They are all a year older, looking really good – Conor Bradley looking really good, Ben Doak really good, Bobby Clark grew somehow, which is normal! They all can play a slightly different role if they want and yeah, how I said, there is an open door for that.

“So, bring it all together and train as much as somehow possible, having short ways back to the bed or to the canteen or restaurant, that’s good. Yeah, having two games and the first two games we play will be interesting, of course.”

With Liverpool looking to improve on last season’s disappointing Premier League campaign, the introduction of Doak on a more regular basis could be the injection of zest and chaos that Klopp’s side lacked for months last year.

And, if the future Scotland international can deliver on the hype, the future will look extremely bright at Anfield.

By Michael Lee

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