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‘I’m not sure’: Pundit says Ben Doak has just done something at Liverpool that he wouldn’t have at Celtic
Young Ben Doak has really been setting the heather on fire at Liverpool. The 17-year-old winger has been earning rave reviews ever since he made the switch from Glasgow’s east end to Merseyside.
The youngster has already made seven top-team appearances as he continues his development under Jurgen Klopp.
He really was a sore one for Celtic to lose last summer and former Celtic striker, Andy Walker, was quizzed on what the Parkhead club can do to try and keep a hold of their top young talents.
Walker said [], “Well, the answer is you can’t. And I’m thinking of recent Celtic teams with homegrown players. I’m thinking of Aiden McGeady, who come through, I think made them a lot of money when he went to Spartak Moscow.
“He was a huge success before he moved. Stephen McManus and Sean Maloney, who come through and made money but it’s always down to the individual.
“They’ve all got agents, and maybe the option for Ben Doak is that he’s 17 and he’s playing from the start in Europe (for Liverpool).
“Would he be doing that at Celtic at 17? I’m not sure.”
Ben Doak is Celtic’s loss but Liverpool’s gain
The fact that Doak has been assessed as good enough to start for Liverpool in their first European tie this season and wasn’t deemed ready to feature more for Celtic is of great credit to the Premier League side.
They have shown the youngster a lot of faith and they will benefit from that in years to come. And Walker is correct. Doak would never have been given a start at such a young age in such an important game at Celtic.
Now, I am well aware that there is more scope to take a chance on a youngster in a team such as Liverpool’s. Their first-team squad is brimming with world-class talent. If the youngster makes a mistake he can rely on some of the best players in the game to help recover it.
And although Celtic do have a talented squad, it’s nowhere near the level of Liverpool’s. However, Doak is clearly a player who was good enough to play for Celtic and the club will still be gutted at losing him.
All Celtic can do now is try and hold onto and develop some of the exciting talent they have in their youth set up. Fans love nothing more than seeing players come through the ranks and Celtic certainly have more than a few that could be ready to make that jump real soon.
In other news, ‘Crying out for’: Andy Walker suggests Brendan Rodgers is now trying to fix one key problem in Celtic squad