'Special' Liverpool star who left Jurgen Klopp speechless could unlock £50m transfer

Liverpool could offer youngster Ben Doak to Crystal Palace in their bid to recruit £50million defender Marc Guehi, it's been claimed. The 19-year-old was once lauded by former boss Jurgen Klopp, who branded him a special talent

The Reds are yet to put their wallet away in the transfer market, having already secured the services of Jeremie Frimpong and Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen as well as left-back Milos Kerkez from Bournemouth for a combined £186m.

Now, attention has turned to another defensive reinforcement in light of centre-back Jarrell Quansah's expected departure, and Englandstar Guehi is high on the club's list.

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It is alleged that the 24-year-old would cost the Reds around £50m, but to reduce that cash sum, new reports suggest young Scottish winger Doak, who has received glowing praise from Anfield royalty in the past, may be thrown into a swap deal for Guehi.

The Sun claim that the 19-year-old is valued at £25m by Liverpool, and the club will attempt to use him to entice Palace to part with Guehi this window. The defender is out of contract in 2026.

Doak first burst onto the scene in 2021 as a Celtic youth prospect, making his debut in a Scottish Premiership win against Dundee United that year. He was signed by the Reds in 2022 for around £600,000 and made his Liverpool bow in an EFL Cup tie against Derby County.

Doak rapidly progressed through the club's U18 set-up, scoring on his first start for them, and quickly became too good even for the U21 side. Under Klopp, Doak impressed, and the German manager hailed his impact.

In a 4-2 friendly win against German side Karlsruher in July 2023, Klopp was lost for words when describing Doak, saying: "Ben Doak, oh my God, it's much fun to watch these kids."

Later that year, Klopp was asked about some of his squad's youngsters, and he said: "Ben Doak, obviously nice signs, he's with us in training again. Special boy, really confident, has something nobody else delivers, really.

"This kind of dribbling, this kind of straight-forward bravery, all these kind of things. Technically, really good, high speed, super-promising, but very young."

The following year, Doak, who was recovering from a knee injury, was called up to Steve Clarke's provisional Scotland squad for Euro 2024 and received a seal of approval from ex-Liverpool ace Danny Murphy.

"He is a super quick, explosive winger," Murphy told talkSPORT. "I don't know where he is at fitness-wise, but he gives you something so different because of his pace. He's got amazing, explosive pace, which could cause teams problems off the bench."

However, Doak failed to make the final squad due to his ailment and was sent on loan to Middlesbrough over the summer. He scored three times in the Championship this season and registered seven assists.

Though he is evidently held in incredibly high regard, Doak's exit could now enable the Merseyside arrival of Guehi, as the Reds gear up for a top-flight title defence.

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