Liverpool’s next Salah has us confusing Scotland for Brazil with his bewitching footwork
Ben Doak is quickly absorbing all the limelight at Liverpool, but his jaw-dropping flair seemingly knows no bounds as the teenager has taken to the international stage to claim souls.
Seventeen is a confusing age. Old enough to drive a car, but not old enough to grab yourself a copy of Call of Duty. Old enough to register to vote in the United Kingdom, but not old enough to vote.
Then it gets really weird, when you consider that Doak is all of those things – including not even old enough to buy himself a pint – but he’s very quickly looking like someone more than good enough for Liverpool and Scotland to pin their hopes and ambitions on as the 2023-24 season progresses.
The average age of the ‘young baller with potential’ continues to drop to sickeningly low levels, and it’s people like Doak who have to answer for that.
Born in 2005, the Scottish winger is already an absolute menace and is showcasing a sickeningly high potential in the form of flicks, feints and all the skills that make you gorp over the television when flicking on a game of football to relax.
Despite his age, Doak gives off serious throwback winger vibes. He’s got bags of pace and every time he gets the ball at his feet, he’s desperate to get his head up and leave his marker for dead, if not with his speed, with a show of skill that’s come straight from Wayne Rooney’s Street Striker – or so we thought.
Doak plays like a kid who’s been brought up on street football, but there’s just something extra about the way he drops a shoulder and glides around his man. Something that screams streets of Brazil, not England. Something that suggests Liverpool already have their next Mo Salah.
Ben Doak is electric! Had a few moments like this against Spain so far ⚡️🏴pic.twitter.com/PDhmHOLnHC
— – (@JoshLFC1909) September 11, 2023
From technique to the sheer audacity to try it, Doak is a bonafide star. He’s got it.
Lining up against Spain’s under-21s – a nation known for their endless technical prowess – he looked a cut above the rest and pulled off what would’ve undoubtedly been one of the goals of the year, had his shot wrapped into the back of the net after leaving two Spanish defenders with paella on their faces.
Defender at the front had no idea where he even was once Doak had burst past him, the poor soul.
As advocates for the permanent banning of the hideously boring short corner, the 17-year-old has truly rocked our world and shown us a life where somehow short corners can be one of the most electrifying few seconds of a football match.
In fact, catch us off guard on a slow Monday morning and there’s a good chance we’d think this was a clip lifted straight out of someone taking the piss in FIFA Ultimate Team. Doak really is that good.
It’s one thing having the confidence and sheer aura to pull off what is an increasingly unique ability to take the ball to the byline and breeze past defenders with a colourful palate of skill, but to then actually have the technique and composure to pull it off in a match scenario?
Yeah, Liverpool are onto something. This kid is the truth.
While it’s rather sickening to see someone so young further validate how truly awful we all were at football looking back and further confirming we never had a chance at living the dream, you simply have to sit back and admire talent like Doak.
There’s a long way to go, but he’s got all the tools and more to carve out a career as a Ronaldinho-inspired tribute act, ripping it up around the world.
By Mitch Wilks
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