Liverpool might now sanction a brief exit from Anfield for one in every of their brightest younger abilities this summer season.
In keeping with James Pearce for The Athletic, Ben Doak is attracting curiosity from a number of Premier League golf equipment, together with promoted duo Leicester and Southampton, with the 18-year-old craving for normal game-time within the 2024/25 season after accidents ruined the earlier marketing campaign for him.
The Scottish teenager realises that his minutes may very well be restricted if he stays at Anfield, the place he’d be the understudy to Mo Salah. Each Arne Slot and Richard Hughes are conscious of the teen’s needs and plan to debate the choices with him as soon as the Reds return from their present U.S. tour.
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It’s been clear to Liverpool followers for a while that Doak is an ‘distinctive‘ prospect, to make use of the wording of Scotland under-21 boss Scot Gemmill, and his need for normal game-time after an injury-ravaged 2023/24 marketing campaign is totally comprehensible.
Whereas he’s definitely proven sufficient to counsel that he may very well be a valued squad member at Anfield for the upcoming season, nudging forward of Salah frequently might be too tall an order for the second, therefore his obvious need to strive his luck elsewhere.
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Of the 2 golf equipment talked about in Pearce’s report, Southampton would seem like the extra preferable possibility if the 18-year-old is loaned out. Their manger Russell Martin is famend for his adherence to a free-flowing model of soccer, whereas competitors for a large attacking berth can be much more intense at Leicester.
If Liverpool resolve to grant Doak a mortgage exit, it have to be to a membership the place he’d play frequently – he can’t be allowed to squander a worthwhile few months of his fledgling profession like Fabio Carvalho when he was shipped off to RB Leipzig final summer season, solely to barely characteristic for the Bundesliga outfit.
The rest of pre-season ought to supply a clearer image of the Scottish gem’s prospects of game-time at Anfield in 2024/25, and whether or not loaning him out can be the best choice for all events involved.
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