Liverpool assistant manager Pep Lijnders has spoken highly about Anfield talent Ben Doak ahead of the Reds’ upcoming match.
The Liverpool coach, speaking to the Reds media team, suggested that Doak’s style is similar to that of the likes of Arjen Robben.
Liverpool are in League Cup third-round action on Wednesday night, hosting second-tier Leicester City at Anfield.
There’s a good chance the Reds will name a much-changed squad, with plenty of top talents likely to feature.
‘Individual skill’
Doak has been one of the standout youngsters in the Liverpool ranks since joining the Reds in 2022.
The 17-year-old has already made seven competitive senior appearances for Jurgen Klopp’s side.
“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 that was [Marc] Overmars, Arjen Robben, this kind of player. In the past in Holland it was like [Johnny] Rep, [Rob] Rensenbrink, so we have this culture of wingers.
“And then if you get a young winger from Scotland that’s only 17 years old and has this capacity to create and to reach the final line with the individual skill or individual movements, it’s nice to see.”
Our view
Klopp and Lijnders have never been shy of giving senior game time to its best young talents, and Wednesday night is likely to be no different.
Doak has been on a steady upward trajectory at Liverpool, and it’ll be exciting to see how he continues to fare for the Anfield giants.