Liverpool legend Phil Thompson has showered one of the Reds’ brightest young talents with glowing praise.
The 1981 European Cup-winning captain voiced his admiration for Ben Doak, who’s been excelling at youth level this season and even made five senior appearances under Jurgen Klopp (Transfermarkt).
In an interview with Herald Scotland, the 69-yaer-old gushed: “What do I think of Ben Doak? Oh my goodness! What a player! I have done quite a few of the youth games for LFC TV and every time I have seen him he has been outstanding.
“One of the great things about Ben is that he just loves football. He has got a wonderful attitude. But he is aggressive and for a forward that is a great attribute to have. He has also got unbelievable pace, he can provide assists and he has got goals in him.
“You just look at him and think: ‘Wow!’ He has had such a rapid rise to fame this season. He has played in the first team this season, which is quite astonishing. I just hope he has got a nice feel for it because he is a tremendous talent.”
Thompson was a stalwart in one of the greatest periods in Liverpool’s history, playing alongside many bona fide legends along with winning seven league titles and two European Cups, so for him to speak so glowingly about Doak is quite the feather in the 17-year-old’s cap.
The praise is well merited, too, with the Scottish teenager netting 11 goals in 26 games across the Reds’ various youth teams since his arrival from Celtic last year (Transfermarkt).
Klopp hailed the youngster as a ‘natural force’ during an impressive display in a first team friendly during the World Cup break last winter (Liverpool Echo), and for an under-18s player to be entrusted with exposure to the Premier League speaks volumes for his talent.
Doak came off the bench twice in top-flight games earlier in the season, appearing for almost a quarter of the defeat to Brighton in January (Transfermarkt).
At just 17, and with Liverpool boasting a plethora of high-quality forwards, the Scot will probably need to be patient in terms of a genuine senior breakthrough at Anfield.
However, his trajectory over the last 12 months suggests that he could have a significant part to play in pre-season during the summer, a time when he might further justify Thompson’s words.