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There’s a post on X (formerly Twitter) doing the rounds regarding a fan of Bayer Leverkusen, seemingly expressing incredulity regarding Anfield’s decibel levels on Tuesday night – making suggestions of electronic amplification – as Liverpool thrived in the Champions League.
It’s perhaps an experience, so singular, that rival fans meet only a handful of times, for Liverpool’s home ground is a ferocious thing at times, swallowing up the most elite of opposition.
There’s plenty of football left to play this season, but Liverpool are flourishing within Arne Slot‘s tactical philosophy. Mohamed Salah, in particular, is playing at an incredible level. But is that actually a surprise?
Mohamed Salah’s performances this season
Salah’s quality appears to have no end, but in truth, he’s out of contract at the end of the campaign and so may well be completing his final months as a Liverpool player.
This term, the 32-year-old has posted nine goals and nine assists apiece across 15 matches in all competitions and seems as hungry as ever for silver-laden success.
But, alas, Salah may indeed be leaving for pastures new at this later stage of his career, and if FSG and Richard Hughes cannot agree on terms that would see his £350k-per-week contract – the highest at Liverpool by a distance – extended, a replacement will need to be found.
Liverpool love an internal solution, and so while fans would relish a high-priced signing brought in to replace the legendary figure, a youngster named Ben Doak might actually be the perfect option for Liverpool’s right flank in the long term.
Why Ben Doak could be the perfect Salah heir
Doak is only young but he’s making gains on loan with Middlesbrough in the Championship. Boro are not hitting the levels of recent years but the Liverpool youngster is still earning invaluable experience under Michael Carrick’s wing.
Hailed as a “prodigy” by Liverpool youth correspondent Keifer MacDonald, Doak featured intermittently for the Reds last season, under Jurgen Klopp, before injuries cast him to the sidelines across the second half of the term.
When Salah was 18, he was plying his trade in his Egyptian homeland for Al Mokawloon. The road ahead is long, but Doak has the skills to make his name at the very apex of football’s pyramid.
|
Ben Doak: Championship Stats 2024/25 |
|
|---|---|
|
Match Stats |
# |
|
Matches (starts) |
9 (7) |
|
Goals |
1 |
|
Assists |
1 |
|
Shots (on target)* |
1.6 (0.8) |
|
Pass completion |
81% |
|
Key passes* |
2.1 |
|
Dribbles* |
2.1 |
|
Ball recoveries* |
2.3 |
|
Total duels won* |
4.3 |
|
Stats via Sofascore |
|
It’s a testament to Doak’s ability that at his maiden stage he is already featuring regularly from the outset for a team like Middlesbrough – and impressing too.
Nifty and tricky, the right-flanking forward is only going to get better across the coming years and he truly could be the internal option for FSG to consider when replacing Salah.
With pace and potency that are served alongside a combativeness that speaks of his suitability within the rigorous Premier League, Doak’s one to keep an eye one for sure – he might just shape into one of the game’s superstars.
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