Liverpool sporting director Richard Hughes. (Photo by John Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)placeholder image
Liverpool sporting director Richard Hughes. (Photo by John Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images) | Liverpool FC via Getty Images
Everton and Nottingham Forest are among the clubs who have been linked with Liverpool youngster Ben Doak in the summer transfer window.
There have been plenty of fledgling talents who have broken through at an early age but have subsequently floundered. Ben Woodburn is still the club's youngest-ever goalscorer but finds himself at League Two Salford. Jerome Sinclair remains Liverpool's youngster player aged 16 and six days but has been out of professional football for the past four years. There are more examples that could be given. Being precocious does not equate to success down the line.
However, there is a difficult feeling with Ngumoha. There is sentiment that he could indeed go on to have a stellar career. Given his performances in pre-season, scoring three goals and creating two more, it will not be a shock if he plays some sort of role in Arne Slot's side's Premier League title defence. His performances have been magnificent and you can see why Chelsea were irked that they had the 16-year-old poached by Liverpool.
Being a prominent member of the squad is unlikely but after the sale of Luis Diaz to Bayern Munich, there is a berth available. Minutes off the bench and in cup competitions could well be what Liverpool have planned for Ngumoha. They'll want to expose him to senior action to help his development.
It wasn't all that long ago when Ben Doak was the prospect Kopites were relishing seeing develop. Signed from Celtic in 2022, he recorded 11 goals and eight assists across youth level in his maiden season, as well as being handed a debut against Derby County in the Carabao Cup only months after his arrival. A knee injury the following campaign meant he was unavailable for the majority before he was loaned to Middlesbrough last term.
Doak was making good progress at the Championship side and underlined he was capable of operating for a Boro outfit pushing for the Premier League. He was also rewarded with a breakthrough into the Scotland senior team. Yet another injury, this time to his thigh, means Doak did not play after January. He scored three times and set up seven in 24 appearances for Middlesbrough. That was a respectable return for his maiden taste of regular first-team action.
Yet since arriving back at Anfield, there has been talk of a permanent departure. Crystal Palace and Ipswich Town were interested in January, while city rivals Everton, West Ham, Nottingham Forest and Wolves are said to hold an interest. Liverpool could bank a fee in the region of £20-25 million if they do wish to cash in.
Certainly, it would help recoup a chunk of the near £300 million already spent on transfers this summer. That figure will increase markedly should Slot's side's pursuit of Alexander Isak be successful after Newcastle rebuffed a £110 offer. What's more, with Doak being purchased for only as much as £1 million, he would help Liverpool's profit and sustainability situation markedly. Not that the Reds are anywhere close to being in trouble but as regulations are based on a three-year period, the transaction would be on the books for the next two years.
However, selling Doak at this stage of his career would be folly at this juncture. A loan move would be far more prudent.
Doak is still only aged 19 and deserves an opportunity to see how he can progress given the injury issues he's suffered. The former Ayr United winger has spent more than a year out of action when combining his setbacks. At Championship level, he proved he is more than capable. And against Athletic Bilbao, Doak displayed he can cut it against top-flight opposition.
In Liverpool's first of a double-header with the Spanish side at Anfield, a 4-1 victory, he was electric. For the Reds' second goal, it was Doak's cross that picked out Ngumoha to head down for Darwin Nunez. Later in the first half, Doak's stinging shot with his unfavoured right foot forced a fine save out of visiting goalkeeper Alex Padilla. But three minutes before half-time, Doak was on the scoresheet when he jinked into the Bilbao box and his shot was turned in by Padilla, who should have done better. Still, it was the reward he deserved.
In truth, it is worth Liverpool seeing if Doak can make the grade in the Premier League and sending him on loan to a rival. If he thrives, there is the opportunity for him to have a future at Anfield. And even if Doak disappointed, it would not affect his value too much as he’d still be 20.
As things stand, there is no obvious successor for Mo Salah, who will be aged 35 when his contract expires in 2027. It will cost Liverpool a vast fee if and when they do have to find a replacement. There could well be one already in-house. A year on loan in the Premier League would help answer that lingering question.
Continue Reading