Dalry teen Ben Doak got a slightly late Christmas present this year – as he made his Premier League debut.
The highly rated 17-year-old came on in the 87th minute of Liverpool’s Boxing Day clash with Aston Villa – replacing fellow summer signing Darwin Nunez.
87′ – Ben Doak replaces Darwin Nunez.
[1-3]#AVLLIV
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) December 26, 2022
The Scotland under 21 international became the youngest Scot to play in the Premier League in the process.
Jurgen Klopp’s side won the match 3-1, with all the scoring taking place before Doak made his cameo.
It comes little over a month on from the former St Palladius Primary School signing his first professional contract with the club.
And while this was the teen’s first league appearance for the Reds, he made his first team debut for the Anfield side in their Carabao Cup contest against Derby County on November 9.
He had only been named on the bench for league matches previously.
While he may have only been on the field for a short period, Doak showed exactly what he’s capable of, and gave Reds fans a glimpse of what to expect in the future.
He skipped past Villa left-back Lucas Digne inside a minute of coming on as he dummied a pass and left the Frenchman on his heels.
Supporters were full of praise for the young Scot following his cameo, with one calling him “majestic”.
While his mother Deeann commented: “What a year it’s been! My heart can’t take this boy congratulations son. Bring on 2023.”
A @PremierLeague debut for Ben Doak 👌 pic.twitter.com/HHNs6pHSMD
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) December 26, 2022
Doak has certainly impressed since moving south from Scottish champions Celtic – scoring twice and registering two assists for Liverpool’s under 18 side so far this season.
He has made an even bigger impact in the Uefa Youth League, where he has notched four goals and four assists in only six matches.
Doak’s time in Scotland certainly helped prepare him for his rapid rise to play on one of the world’s biggest stages.
He became Celtic’s youngest ever debutant when he made first appearance against Dundee United in early 2022.
He also featured in February’s vital old firm match against Rangers.
Doak then made the move to Merseyside – for a reported £600,000 – in the summer of this year.
Celtic legend, and Doak’s agent, Jackie McNamara recently opened up on the teen’s Parkhead exit – which he thought was far from cut and dried.
He told the BBC: “I thought the Old Firm game might have swung it, because my whole thing was, show the kid that you’re going to keep him, show him that he’s not behind six or seven other players.
“He doesn’t want to play against Civil Service Strollers in the B team.
“But for the Old Firm game he was getting bombarded for tickets, for this, for that, down where he lived in Ayrshire. He turned his phone off.
“You forget he was only 16. I asked what he was thinking and he just didn’t want to stay.
“When Ben went down to visit Liverpool, Klopp said, ‘Ah Ben, I’ve seen your stuff’. Straight away he was made to feel really welcome.”
And it looks like Doak made the right decision, with the teen’s move proving to be the stuff of fairytales so far.
