Former Celtic captain, now Football Agent, Jackie McNamara has provided some insight on the 17-year-old Scottish prodigy, Ben Doak’s move from Paradise to Annfield.
The excitement regarding Doak’s potential has been building over recent months as he has been putting consistently high-standard performances. Doak has already earned his first team debut for Liverpool under Jurgen Klopp, while also receiving his first professional contract from Liverpool. For many, there is no telling how far the youngster will go as he continues to set tongues wagging.
McNamara opens up on Doak’s decision to move from Celtic to join Liverpool, saying that after being in communication with the Mersey-side club, he simply didn’t want to remain at Celtic. However, Doak was beginning to build momentum for his career at Celtic shortly before his departure, with Ange Postecoglou handing him a few minutes in first-team football, coming on against Dundee United and theRangers. Being one of the biggest fixtures in the world, McNamara believed that playing for the Bhoys against theRangers could’ve enticed Doak’s to remain at Celtic. However, his mind was swayed when Liverpool plead their case to him.
Speaking to the BBC, McNamara gave his insight on the move…
“In fairness, 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.”
The former Celtic B-team coach, Tommy McIntyre, also gave some insight into Celtic’s stance at the time…
“Celtic did try their very best to keep him. They gave him that platform to perform on the big stage, but it was ultimately his decision. He was always highly thought of. It was only age that prevented me bringing him in earlier to the B team, as you need to be 16.”
“He wasn’t with me long before Ange took him up to the first team. He’s so exciting because he’s a player that gets fans off their seat – when he gets the ball, he’s so direct. He’s got blistering pace and has a trick as well. He can get past people, he provides crosses into the box, he creates chances, he finishes.”
🏴 | Ben Doak
Scotland U21 winger Ben Doak retains his place amongst Liverpool first team following their training camp in Dubai.
Doak made his debut last month aged sixteen & has been involved ever since with boss Jurgen Klopp impressed with what he's seeing 👏🏽 pic.twitter.com/N8jWUWOnzN
— Everything Scotland 🏴 (@AboutScotlandd) December 19, 2022
