A new era is dawning at Liverpool following the departures of the long-serving James Milner, Jordan Henderson, Fabinho and Roberto Firmino this summer.
That midfield trio left a huge void that needed filling and the Red’s prime transfer targets were Brighton’s Moises Caicedo and Southampton’s Romeo Lavia, however, they were beaten to the punch by Chelsea and instead focused their efforts elsewhere.
Despite signing RB Leipzig’s Dominik Szoboszlai and Brighton’s Alexis Mac Allister to play in their advanced eight positions, Jurgen Klopp still needed a midfield destroyer and their answer to that problem was Stuttgart’s Wataru Endo, whose signature underwhelmed in comparison to their former targets.
With that said, Liverpool have put their shortcomings in the transfer market behind them by taking ten points from their opening four matches as victories over Bournemouth, Newcastle United, Aston Villa and a draw against Chelsea extended their unbeaten run to 15 Premier League matches.
Although their strong start can be attributed to the form of Mohamed Salah, Luis Diaz, Darwin Núñez and new signing Szoboszlai, the huge emergence of youth within the club’s first-team picture suggests that the future isn’t only looking bright on the field.
In their victory over Villa, Klopp named four players on his bench who were aged 20 and under, including Harvey Elliott, Jarell Quansah, Stefan Bajcetic and 17-year-old Ben Doak, with the latter of that quartet receiving high praise for his impressive pre-season form.
Who is Ben Doak?
Liverpool secured the signature of Doak from Celtic for a compensation fee of £600,000 in March 2022, signing his first professional contract with the Reds in November of that year.
A fast and direct winger, who has been branded by Klopp as a “special boy”, is highly regarded alongside Bajcetic and Elliott at Anfield, and it is clear to see why.
Doak has dazzled since joining the club, scoring ten times across Liverpool’s underage groups in his first season, attracting the attention of those higher up and earning himself multiple call-ups to the first team.
During his first five appearances for the club, the Scottish winger stunned fans with his blistering pace and power, which he showcased in a 2-2 draw against Wolves in the FA Cup last season.
Following his excellent start to his Liverpool career, legend and fellow Scotsman Kenny Daglish lavished praise on the teenage sensation, lauding him as “brilliant” since breaking into the first-team picture.
Although Mohamed Salah’s future is closed for now, the Egyptian could still depart in the future and given his age, his contract at Liverpool and the fact that Saudi Arabian clubs are desperate to get him, the possibility of him departing next summer is high.
While replacing Salah – should he depart – would cost upwards of £100m, Liverpool could save themselves a lot of money by dipping into their goldmine of youth prospects. Doak is leading that charge, but fellow golden boy Kaide Gordon can’t be forgotten.
How good is Kaide Gordon?
A fleet-footed winger with tremendous ball-striking ability, Gordon’s sharp rise onto the scene at Liverpool during the 21/22 was marked by his debut goal against Shrewsbury in the FA Cup, becoming the club’s second-youngest scorer at 16-years-old.
Following this debut, Gordon would appear a further three times in that campaign, including a Carabao Cup semi-final clash against Arsenal, as he helped his side advance to the final against Chelsea – a match they would triumph in and lift the trophy.
