£30m wonderkid is BEGGING for Liverpool chance

Liverpool’s preseason campaign gets underway on Sunday at Deepdale when they take on Preston North End in a friendly.

The 2024/25 Premier League champions will have several new players at their disposal.

Florian Wirtz, Milos Kerkez, Jeremie Frimpong and Giorgi Mamardashvili represent around £200m worth of talent acquired in this window by sporting director Richard Hughes.

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It means the Reds should be even BETTER than last season once the new players are up to speed. But don’t forget about the players already on the books.

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Last season’s first-team squad members will want to show Slot they are more than capable of holding off the challenge presented by the new signings.

Can Ben Doak step up?

Dominik Szoboszlai and Cody Gakpo will have to compete with Wirtz in the No10 / left-wing positions. Andy Robertson will be determined to show he still has plenty to give even if Kerkez is the long-term solution at left-back.

Conor Bradley won’t give up his starting position at right-back easily, and will be hoping Slot deploys Frimpong elsewhere.

And Alisson Becker will know that if his injury troubles recur this season then he will have no choice but to give up his place for Mamardashvili.

But Liverpool’s returning loan players have a unique opportunity to show what they can do before plans are finalised for the season ahead.

Chief among them will be Ben Doak.

Doak valued as a £30m signing

The 19-year-old has been discussed more as a £30m bargaining chip waiting to be cashed rather than an aspiring first-team player in recent months.

Having starred on loan at Middlesbrough last term - before injury struck in February - the Scotland international was discussed as a potential Premier League signing for either Crystal Palace or now-relegated Ipswich back in January.

And had either of those clubs met Liverpool’s asking price then the £600k signing from Celtic could well have been on his way.

The temptation to sell Doak must be high; the club would clear £29m in profit on the winger if they decided to get rid.

Doak's impressive stats merit an audition

But the flip side is that Doak may well be given a chance to shine in the first team - during preseason at least. And who knows, a decent outing against Preston or else on tour in the Far East could help him stake a claim for a squad place in the season ahead.

If Liverpool sell Federico Chiesa then Doak will have a shot at becoming Mohamed Salah’s reserve. With the Egyptian set to miss up to 10 games due to the Africa Cup of Nations, there is an opportunity for Doak to put together a streak of first-team appearances.

And his stats in the Championship for Boro merit an audition at least. He averaged the most progressive runs per 90 (6.06) and ranked second for assists per 90 (0.38) per Liverpool expert Bence Bocsak.

Time for Doak to showcase his talents

And according to FOTMOB he averaged 2.22 chances created last season in the second tier - enough to put him in the 93rd percentile.

The preseason period is a great chance for the youngster to make an impact and let Arne Slot know what he can do.

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With Liverpool tipped to sell not only Chiesa but also Luis Diaz, space will soon open up on Liverpool’s wings. Doak has a golden shot to step into the reckoning.