Dean Jones has made a confident prediction regarding Ben Doak at Liverpool.
The 17-year-old has already forged his way into Jurgen Klopp’s first-team squad at Anfield, starting two matches over the past fortnight and being one of the stars of pre-season for the Reds.
The Scottish teenager is currently the natural right-sided understudy to Mo Salah in LFC’s attack and will hope to one day step into the void whenever the Egyptian departs – something which could’ve happened already considering the strong interest in him from Saudi Arabia.
Jones believes that Liverpool mightn’t need to spend big on bringing in a replacement for the 31-year-old when he leaves, as they could already have one in Doak.
Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, the journalist said: “To understand for themselves whether they’re going to need to into the market and sign a premium attacker or if they already have one here at their fingertips… I think that honestly, he [Doak] could actually go and do it, especially as Liverpool do already have a cast of forwards that they could lean on to rotate with him.
“I know that there aren’t necessarily obvious candidates to be Mohamed Salah, but even Dominik Szoboszlai can go out onto the right side if needed. I think Doak should be made to feel like he can have a bigger role at Liverpool once Salah goes.”
It’s quite the backing by Jones to suggest that the 17-year-old is capable of stepping up to be Salah’s long-term successor at Liverpool.
Players come and go in football, but few will be harder to replace than the Egyptian, who’s blasted his way into the top five all-time leading goalscorers in Anfield history and displayed an incredible consistency which has seen him net at least 23 goals in each of his six full season at the club (Transfermarkt).
He’s currently on a 13-match sequence in which he’s either scored himself or provided an assist, proving to be one of the most reliable attackers in the world.
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However, it’s a testament to how well Doak has performed in his embryonic career that he’s been backed to fill the Salah void when the time comes to do so. The young Scot has shown vast confidence in his first-team outings thus far, displaying an ability to take on opponents and leave them for dead with his searing pace.
If he does prove capable of stepping up to become a first-team stalwart at Anfield, he could save Liverpool millions in the transfer market.
It’s asking quite a lot of him to be the Egyptian’s long-term successor, and we don’t want to burden him with such a mammoth challenge too early, but that he’s even been regarded in that conversation shows the scale of the potential within the teenager’s locker.