Ben Doak recently renewed his contract with Liverpool, and Pep Guardiola may have given him some insight into his potential future at the club in comparison to Jérémy Doku at Manchester City.
Ben Doak’s agreement to a new long-term contract at Anfield was good and somewhat unexpected news for Liverpool supporters on Tuesday afternoon. Since joining the Reds from Celtic about a year ago, the Scottish teenager has shown real promise in a red shirt.
Doak has excelled whenever he has been given the chance to play on the field, but he hasn’t yet cemented himself as a first-team regular for Jürgen Klopp. He has portrayed himself as a very direct and courageous forward who isn’t afraid to square off against more experienced players despite being only 17 years old.
When he has the ball, the Scot already has the appearance of being a master dribbler because he tends to drive at his opponents before outpacing them with a sudden burst of speed and quick feet. Over the past year, Doak has captured the interest of Merseyside supporters, and he has done the same with Klopp.
Earlier this summer, the Reds manager was quoted as saying, “Doak, obviously nice signs, he’s with us in training again.” (via the Daily Record). “Special boy, really self-assured, has something no one else really delivers, this kind of dribbling, this kind of unflinching bravery, all these kind of things.”
In fact, Klopp’s assistant Pep Lijnders has expressed admiration for the young starlet in a similar manner. In a press conference last year, he declared, “If you are very quick and technical, that makes a really dangerous player.” And he picks things up quickly, too. It’s great to see because sometimes you can be extremely quick and quick on your feet without understanding the team. Although you need quality players, success ultimately comes from the team.
Doak is still very young, but it is already obvious that he possesses very particular traits related to his directness and dribbling ability, especially when he is used on the wings. Based on the configuration of his current system, Klopp will undoubtedly be eager to take advantage of those advantages in the near future.
In April, the German modified his standard strategy by telling his players to adopt a fresh 3-2-5 formation whenever they had possession of the ball, with a box midfield forming in the middle of the field.
The four midfielders in the middle of the field often draw defenders to the inside of the field, creating space on the flanks as a result. The tactical change has benefited Mohamed Salah, and the wide players for Manchester City have also benefited.
Prior to Klopp, Pep Guardiola employed the 3-2-5 offensive system in the Premier League. The Spanish coach was eager to make the most of Jack Grealish and Riyad Mahrez’s abilities in wide areas. Jérémy Doku was signed by the Etihad club this summer after leaving Rennes for about $68 million (£55 million/€65 million).
The Belgian international has a lot of room for improvement, but his strengths are clear. He is quick, direct, and enjoys dribbling past opponents, just like Doak. In fact, Doku finished more dribbles per 90 minutes than any other player in Europe’s top five leagues last season, with Allan Saint-Maximin, a former Newcastle United forward, coming in second.
The 21-year-old attacker, who only scored six goals in Ligue 1 last season, isn’t particularly prone to scoring goals, but if Guardiola allows him to do what he does best, which is dribble past opponents, he will undoubtedly excel. His 3-2-5 formation will also give him a platform to succeed.
Doku can effectively serve as a blueprint for Doak whenever he is involved and demonstrates how Liverpool could outperform the $68m transfer given the relative fees at stake. Doak is unlikely to receive many opportunities in the Premier League over the course of the next 12 months given that he is still a teenager. Doak will have plenty of time to develop on Merseyside, but Klopp already has a system in place that might help him perform at his best.