Ben Doak has outlined his fearless approach as he looks to challenge Liverpool’s ‘goalscoring and assist machines’.
The 17-year-old made a cameo appearance during the Reds’ opening day draw at Stamford Bridge. Doak was a late replacement for Mohamed Salah as Jurgen Klopp looked to bring stability to his side going into the dying embers of their encounter with Chelsea.
It was Doak’s third Premier League appearance for Liverpool after signing the winger for £600,000 from Scottish Premiership giants Celtic, in 2022.
The 17-year-old became the fourth-youngest Liverpool debutant at the age of 17 years, one month and 15 days when he made his senior top-flight bow at Villa Park, during the 3-1 win over Aston Villa.
Doak was among the Academy contingent who joined Klopp’s side on their tour of Singapore before getting up to speed in Baden Wurttemberg.
With another Premier League appearance in the bag, the youngster admits that he is trying to embrace the opportunity. He told Liverpoolfc.com: “I’m just happy to be around, any minutes are a bonus for me, I’m just trying to enjoy it.
“From when I joined the club last year there’s been a big jump and I feel like the best player I’ve ever been, so I’m just looking to keep kicking on.
“I just want to play more than last season. I’m grateful for every opportunity that I’ve had but I’m just trying to build a career, so just play as many games as possible and give a good account of myself.”
Doak is competing in Liverpool’s rich attacking department which features Salah, Luis Diaz, Cody Gakpo, Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota
And the youngster was open in his shortfalls, despite the infancy of his career, and showed a glimmer into his fearless streak as he looks to challenge Liverpool’s star forward in their output.
“The bit of my game I need to get better is the end product, so I’m just trying to look at what these lot do because every one of them are scoring machines or assisting machines,” he added.
“I made a few appearances for Celtic before I came here as well so, I’m not used to it, I’ll never be used to it, but I am more used to the big crowds than most lads my age would be and also I’m going out to do what I’ve been doing my full life, so there’s not really any reason to be scared.”