Liverpool has fostered Steven Gerrard trend as $60m investment set to pay off with new wonderkid

Liverpool’s academy has a rich history, with Steven Gerrard being one of its flagships. After a major investment by the club, a new prodigy is on its way.

It is likely to be a summer of change at Liverpool, with a number of established names leaving Anfield to be replaced by new faces. However, a particularly promising academy star could save the club millions in the transfer market.

Promising winger Ben Doak marked his return to action with a string of goals and assists during Liverpool Under-21s’ 7-1 win against Leicester City in Premier League 2 on Saturday. Signed in the summer from Celtic for a fee of up to $732,000 (£600,000/€675,000), the Ayrshire native has won critical acclaim for his performances with the Reds’ youth academy and has already made five first-team appearances. first name.

The 17-year-old forward was ruled out earlier this month with a minor muscle injury and is hoping to capitalize on his particularly impressive first-team cameo against Derby County in this season’s Carabao Cup. Doak excelled by completing three dribbles, making a key pass, winning five duels and shooting on goal in an impressive 16-minute cameo.

Another first team performance would then come off the bench at Aston Villa on Boxing Day, impressing with his eagerness to pick up the ball and drive towards the opposition defence, leading a beaming Jürgen Klopp to exclaim “that’s Ben! ” in the press conference following the game. Doak was on the field for just six minutes but questioned veteran Villains full-back Lucas Digne, who carried the ball three times and put the Frenchman in the net once. Another taste of first-team football came in the league defeat by Brighton in mid-January, where he completed three successful ties, with 13 passes in just 22 minutes. All in all, Doak was one of the few positives in an otherwise disappointing 3-0 loss at Amex Stadium.

His last involvement before the muscle injury came off the bench again, with a 15th-minute run-out in a 1–0 win against Wolves in an FA Cup third round replay at Molineux three days later. Once again the Scottish starlet’s dribbling skills stood out and his positive performance branded him as a potential star of the future.

There is no doubt that Doak has earned his minutes with the Liverpool first team this season having scored a sensational 10 goals and eight assists in just 17 appearances for Liverpool at youth level – one goal every 79 minutes. The two-time Scotland Under-21 international signed a full professional contract in November, making it clear Klopp has major long-term plans for the exciting striker.

There is no doubt that Doak has earned his minutes with the Liverpool first team this season having scored a sensational 10 goals and eight assists in just 17 appearances for Liverpool at youth level – one goal every 79 minutes. The two-time Scotland Under-21 international signed a full professional contract in November, making it clear Klopp has major long-term plans for the exciting striker.

The rich supply of young players who have made it through at Liverpool over the past 30 years to become bona fide Premier League superstars is likely to have made the club an attractive destination for Doak when he decided to leave Glasgow last summer. Robbie Fowler and Michael Owen both came into the picture in the 1990s, with Steven Gerrard shortly after before Trent Alexander-Arnold became a regular under current boss Klopp in more recent times. Not to mention the $60m (£50m/€56m) investment in the AXA Training Centre, which once again looks set to pay off with yet another prodigy rolling off the production line. The complex allows the first team and academy to train in the same venue, making the transition between the two much smoother.

Liverpool have a lot of business to deal with this summer, with the main concerns surrounding their ailing midfield and central areas of defence, but it seems the Reds look far more future-proof when it comes to forwards. Superstar Mohamed Salah isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, but at 31, it doesn’t hurt to have one eye on the future. It’s too early to sign Doak as his successor, and he should be able to develop without any pressure, but it’s clear the club have something of a prodigy on their hands. At his best, Salah has a truly unpredictable quality, a trait he shares with past and present Liverpool stars Sadio Mané and Luis Díaz. This is clearly a quality Klopp values, especially when it comes to his wingers.

In that regard, Doak has already shown in his limited experience of first-team action that it comes naturally to him. Perhaps the Scottish starlet can follow in the footsteps of Fowler, Owen, Gerrard and Alexander-Arnold before him and herald a rising talent in the Premier League in the months and years to come.