Jurgen Klopp has revealed the message he gave to 16-year-old Ben Doak moments before he made his senior Liverpool debut against Derby County on Wednesday.
The former Celtic youth star was introduced as a second-half substitute and caught the attention of most Reds fans with his confident dribbling and quick movements.
The teenager, who turns 17 tomorrow, moved to Merseyside from Glasgow earlier this summer to continue his development and was praised by his manager following the penalty shootout win over the League One side.
“I’m pretty sure his family was here tonight. I remember when I saw the family at the AXA (Training Center) when we signed the boy, how excited everyone was. Now having tonight, it’s the next step, it’s great. He showed up, obviously.”
Despite spending only 15 minutes on the pitch, the Scot completed three of his four dribbles and looked very comfortable on the pitch despite his young age.
Former Red Stephen Warnock called the winger’s performance “exciting” as it sent a great message of intent to Klopp and made it clear that he is more than capable of contending for a place in the first team.
Calvin Ramsay, Stefan Bajcetic and Melkamu Frauendorf also impressed as they made rare starts under the lights of L4.
We certainly believe that Doak is in the best possible place to continue to develop as a player and under the guidance of the former Borussia Dortmund manager, the sky really is the limit for the young talent.
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