Prior to the Reds’ forthcoming game, Liverpool assistant manager Pep Lijnders praised Anfield prodigy Ben Doak.
Speaking to the Reds media team, the Liverpool coach stated that Doak’s play was comparable to Arjen Robben’s.
On Wednesday night at Anfield, Liverpool will play host to second-tier Leicester City in a League Cup third-round matchup.
The Reds have a fair chance of selecting a drastically different lineup, one that includes many top players.
“Personality skill”
Since joining the Reds in 2022, Doak has been one of the most outstanding young players in the Liverpool ranks.
Seven competitive senior appearances for Jurgen Klopp’s team have now been made by the 17-year-old.
“He’s young, so a lot of things can happen,” Lijnders said of Doak.
“I had the privilege to grow up in Holland, so we have a long tactical culture of Johan Cruyff.
“They always said the most special players and the way we wanted to play in the past – and still with a lot of teams – is this idea of having the wingers on the outside, can create, can really use one-on-one to disorganise the opposition, to have this speed.
“In the past, players of this caliber included [Marc] Overmars and Arjen Robben. We have a culture of wingers because in the past, players like [Rob] Rensenbrink and [Johnny] Rep played in Holland.
“And it’s good to watch a young Scottish winger, who is just 17 years old, who has the ability to produce and get to the goal with individual technique or individual movements”.
In our opinion
The best young players under Klopp and Lijnders have consistently received senior game time, and Wednesday night is likely to be no different.
Doak has been progressing steadily for Liverpool, so it will be interesting to watch how he performs going forward for the Anfield giants.