Former Celtic Captain Discusses Ben Doak’s Liverpool Transfer

In a difficult and transitional season for Liverpool, one particular bright spot has been the emergence of teenager Ben Doak. It’s always exciting when a new youngster gets a turn in the first team.

Doak arrived from Celtic last March. He signed his first professional contract in November after he turned 17-years-old. Manager Jürgen Klopp gave Doak his first team debut in the 74th minute of their third round League Cup game against Derby County. He had the opportunity to travel to Dubai and train with the first team during the World Cup break.

Overall, his nascent career on Merseyside has gotten off to a rocket of a start. Former Celtic captain Jackie McNamara spoke about how the 16-year-old was convinced to make such a huge move.

McNamara said he thought the opportunity to make an appearance in the game against Rangers could be enough to fix his roving eye. However, he hadn’t considered the draw of Liverpool’s charismatic manager to seal the deal.

“In fairness, I thought the Old Firm game might have swung it. Because my whole thing was, show the kid that you’re going to keep him, show him that he’s not behind six or seven other players,” McNamara told the BBC.

“When Ben went down to visit Liverpool, Klopp said, ‘Ah Ben, I’ve seen your stuff.’ Straight away he was made to feel really welcome.”

Klopp has been impressed with the youngster’s high caliber performances, and hopefully we’ll be seeing him playing a more active role in the team over the next few years.