Harvey Elliott remains arguably the best example, in recent years, of a young Liverpool star’s fortunes having been transformed by a loan spell.
Cue a successful loan with Blackburn Rovers in the 2020/21 season and the former Fulham academy prospect has since gone on to record 27 goal contributions in 123 senior appearances (across all competitions).
His playing time has, admittedly, been a little limited since Arne Slot took the reins. Of course, matters simply can’t be helped by a serious injury suffered at the start of the campaign, nor by the fact the Reds have an already incredible array of midfield options at their disposal.
Which then makes the question of Ben Doak’s future rather interesting – especially given that he’d be competing with Mo Salah for minutes on return.
Assuming that the Egyptian international signs a new contract, that is!
Ben Doak continues to impress on loan
The Scotland wizard has been in sensational form for Michael Carrick’s Middlesbrough this term, racking up 10 goal contributions (three goals, seven assists) in 24 Championship games in 2024/25.
That’s a goal or assist every 178.9 minutes (based on 1,789 minutes of football played) in England’s second division.
As Liverpool’s Mo Salah scored a superb effort against Ipswich yesterday, his Boro counterpart reached double figures with an absolutely gorgeous assist against Preston North End.
Doak can be seen lifting the ball perfectly over the Preston defence to hand Delano Burgzorg a gilt-edged chance (which he took) in the second half of action at the Deepdale.
Bear in mind our young Scot was under immediate pressure before playing that lofted ball!
You can catch the clip below, courtesy of @LewisBower2021 on X:
Ben Doak up to 10 G/A for Boro this season in the Championship. Delicious knock. pic.twitter.com/2c0am7kKfd
— Lewis Bower (@LewisBower2021) January 25, 2025
What does the future hold for Doak?
If Mo Salah opts to extend his stay at Anfield, it’s difficult to see a world in which Doak has access to a regular supply of minutes at Liverpool.
That’s not to say we wouldn’t take the option of his incredible pace and trickery on the bench, but it’s not like our No.11 is known for being brittle or taking particularly well to early substitutions.
This then makes us wonder whether or not the club might very well be tempted to accept a bid for the 19-year-old were any suitor to meet our £30m asking price.
It would seem a shame right now to lose such a promising, if raw, talent, but perhaps Richard Hughes and his team may see fit to reinvest that money where it’s needed in the squad.
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