Liverpool look set to profit big this summer from the sale of Ben Doak - and Middlesbrough can benefit from that.
Everton are said to be really keen on the winger, who enjoyed a hugely successful loan spell at Boro last season. David Moyes is keen to sign his fellow countryman having long been an admirer of the former Celtic youth star. Liverpool will demand a £30 million fee.
If Doak did move between the two Merseyside clubs this summer, he'd be only the third to do so in the Premier League era. Incidentally, the other two both also have Boro connections. Nick Barmby did so in the summer of 2000, moving from Everton to Liverpool in a £6m deal. The last player to do it was Abel Xavier, who went in same direction as Barmby in January 2002.
Sadly, Boro won’t benefit financially from any such move for Doak, despite playing a big role in the development and exposure that will ultimately lead to Liverpool’s profitable sale this summer. That’s the nature of the loan market, sadly. But Boro can still benefit.
While, as a priority, Boro will be aiming to sign players permanently this summer, Doak is a prime example of when the club can effectively use the loan market while in the Championship to boost their promotion prospects. It’s widely appreciated that Doak’s premature end on Teesside due to injury was a contributory factor in the disappointing tenth-place finish.
While Boro prefer, when possible, to sign players permanently, who can then be developed by the club and potentially sold on for profit down the line, the club’s ultimate ambition remains gaining promotion to the Premier League. And in wanting to achieve that when battling against the sides with parachute payments, the loan market can often be a means of signing quality that otherwise wouldn’t be affordable.
In that sense, Doak was a perfect example of using that market effectively last season and Michael Carrick spoke often about how all parties ultimately benefited from that transfer. With the exception of maybe Mark Travers, the same could not be said of Boro’s other loan deals last term.
But, as a new window comes and brings new priorities and fresh opportunities for Boro to strengthen their squad, the success of Doak can be a huge benefit to the club - particularly if Everton do follow through with their widely-reported interest in the Scotland international.
Boro are well known to monitor the U21 squads of all the top clubs and will be well aware of who the next emerging talents are, who could potentially do a job in the Championship next season. As was the case with Doak, they’re unlikely to be alone in their interest in such talents should they become available.
Where Boro can benefit from Doak’s loan is their proven track record of ensuring the loan move succeeds. Having grown a reputation of being a good environment for young talent to develop and prosper, there are likely to be few, if any, Premier League clubs who would hesitate in sending their future prospects on loan to Boro. They're safe in the knowledge they’ll be well looked after.
As a first priority, Boro will be looking for permanent signings this summer. Always aware that there was little prospect of seeing any of their five loanees of last season, including Doak, return this summer when promotion wasn’t achieved, they planned ahead and identified five primary targets for the positions they wish to strengthen this summer. That includes a new forward after Doak’s exit.
While there is confidence that they will be able to progress those deals and get their key targets over the line as the summer progresses and players begin to return from their summer holidays, Boro will, as ever, remain open-minded and alert to any potentially game-changing Premier League loans.
Game-changing was exactly how Doak’s loan move was described 12 months ago, and so it proved. You can never know what might have been, but it goes without saying, Carrick’s side were better for Doak’s involvement. While it didn’t get them over the line in their own ambitions last term, it can help secure more deals of similar ilk moving forward, and that can only be a positive.