'Fearless' Liverpool wonderkid Ben Doak is out-dribbling Kylian Mbappe and Mohamed Salah at EFL club

Today at 01:00 PM

Ben Doak is quickly emerging as one of European football’s most exciting young talents.

The 19-year-old Liverpool starlet moved to Anfield in March 2022 from Celtic and quickly emerged as one of the club’s most exciting young players.

After making 10 senior appearances under Jurgen Klopp, the winger joined Middlesbrough on a season-long loan deal in the Championship, where he has left fans very excited about what he has to offer.

One goal and three assists in 10 games for Michael Carrick‘s side – with all three assists coming in his last two games – has showed everyone what he’s capable of, but those statistics don’t tell the full story.

Renowned for his dribbling ability, Doak has amassed 39 carries into the penalty area (CPA) this season, according to FBref.

That tally makes him the the fourth-best player in this metric across Europe’s top five leagues in Europe plus the Championship.

It ranks him higher that Real Madrid superstar Kylian Mbappe and Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah who have 36 CPA each.

What’s even more impressive is that Doak has only played 683 minutes this season, compared to 937 for Mbappe and 963 for Salah.

Doak is level for CPA with Viktor Gyokeres, who has shone for Sporting Lisbon this season to put him firmly on the radar of Manchester United and a number of other elite clubs.

The only two players above Doak in CPA are Paris Saint-Germain forward Bradley Barcola (40) and Ballon d’Or runner up Vinicius Jr (44).

As well as shining for Middlesbrough, Doak attracted huge praise for his performance for Scotland against Croatia in which he gave Man City superstar Josko Gvardiol a game from hell after running riot at Hampden Park.

Reflecting on Doak’s rise, Scottish football legend Ally McCoist couldn’t hide his excitement.

Asked how Doak’s increased game time at Middlesbrough has aided his development, McCoist told talkSPORT: "He's benefited and the national team have benefited like you've no idea.

"At the Euros we were attempting to get any level of width but going forward it's just at a different level when you've got an out and out winger who has something different.

"He's been the real success story of the last few games and without getting carried away, he has been fabulous.

"He gave Josko Gvardiol a bit of a going over in the Croatia match but Ben Doak is terrific.

"He's got outstanding potential.

"I'm not going to compare him to Jude Bellingham but I will in the sense that he plays with a freedom.

"When Bellingham came on the scene as a young man he was fearless and looked like he was loving every minute of it – Ben Doak looks to be in the same place.

"There's a freshness about him and he's given us something very different in a forward area and we've not had that for a long, long time.

"We haven't had someone who can beat someone with pace, beat someone with a stepover in years because in the modern game you need somebody to go by somebody for the whole thing to open up.

"Defences are so well organised now that you've got to have somebody who can make the difference and in the last couple of games, he has been a great watch."

Explaining why he chose to join Middlesbrough, Doak explained: "I went on the pre-season tour with Liverpool, had a good time, got some minutes for the first time since my injury last year and I think I made a good impression before the injury.

"I had a few clubs with eyes on me. The club helped me pick as well and I watched a few Boro games and I knew a few of the lads here.

"I didn't think there was a much better place than the Boro, especially to be honest the amount they have the ball on the right-hand side and the team just naturally caters to my game.

"The club (Liverpool) helps you narrow it down, then you speak to the gaffers and then just pick the team that takes your fancy and Arne Slot obviously approved of the choice.

"He said Michael's team play really good football, he's got the team playing really well."

If he can continue his rise to stardom, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Doak shining for Liverpool under Slot next season.