Liverpool have knocked back approaches from Crystal Palace and Ipswich for winger Ben Doak.
Neither Palace nor Ipswich have come close to meeting Liverpool’s valuation for Doak, currently on loan at Championship side Middlesbrough.
The Scotland international is said to be one of Palace’s top targets this month, while Ipswich are currently discussing whether to make an offer closer to Liverpool’s asking price.
Liverpool have also rejected some strong interest from teams in Europe. The Reds are happy with the 19-year-old’s progress at Boro and they believe he still has a future at Anfield and can play in Arne Slot’s first team eventually.
The 19-year-old won EFL Young Player of the Month for December and Liverpool believe he is the best player in that division.
The 19-year-old has recorded two goals and five assists across his 17 starts in the Championship for Michael Carrick’s side and is now attracting interest from the Eagles.
Next Up: Who is Scotland wonderkid Doak?
Sky Sports’ Sam Blitz:
Ten years ago, a nine-year-old Ben Doak was playing for Ayr United’s U11s against Hamilton Academicals.
That day, he played in two seven-a-side matches against two different Accies sides and scored nine goals. It would end up taking him to better things.
Watching on was Jim Began, Celtic’s chief talent spotter. At that point, there was little to no doubt where Doak was going next.
“I remember seeing Jim at the side of the pitch and I had the feeling he was there to see Ben, because he was doing so well and there was so much hype around him,” says Liam Anderson, one of Doak’s coaches at Ayr Utd at the time.
“That day, you’re thinking: let’s hope he does well, but not too well. But that day, he was incredible.”
A decade after that display on the seven-a-side pitch, he was tearing past Croatia and Man City full-back Josko Gvardiol at Hampden Park in Scotland colours.
Doak turned Croatia’s Josko Gvardiol inside out at Hampden Park
Doake stunned the Man City defender with an incredible turn away from the Croatian
A sensational international break last month saw him assist the opening goals for John McGinn in wins over Croatia and Poland. He’s now one of the first names on Steve Clarke’s team sheet.
And that’s not all. Doak has established himself as one of the most exciting players in the Championship on loan at Middlesbrough – his tantalising pace causing havoc to second-tier defences. The goals and assists are flying.
Parent club Liverpool are watching and with doubts over Mohamed Salah’s long-term future at Anfield, Arne Slot may not have to look far for a potential replacement.
Ben Doak is Next Up.
What Palace and Ipswich bosses said on transfers
Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner says he expects captain Marc Guehi to stay during the January transfer window and is hopeful the club can also add a couple of signings in that time
Palace boss Oliver Glasner revealed his team were looking to sign two players in the January transfer window, while he also remained hopeful of keeping defender Marc Guehi at the club.
“We want to sign two players in two different positions. We have to get the deals done and this is the job of the club,” he said, speaking ahead of Palace’s next game at home to Chelsea.
“We have a clear commitment that we will sign two new players. Let’s not talk about individual names.”
Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna has admitted that he is keen on bolstering their attacking options but refused to be drawn on Jaden Philogene links.
Sky Sports News reported on Thursday that Philogene is of interest to Ipswich and the club were monitoring his situation.
Highlights from the Premier League clash between Ipswich and Chelsea
“My focus is on the players that we have here,” McKenna said. “Of course, we’re trying to add to the squad in this window as every team is and we want to make the squad better, not just for the second half of the season but for the long term. So we’re going to look to do that in the best way possible.
Asked if his side were looking to improve in attack, he said: “I think it’s an area that we need to add to. It’s an area that we wanted to add in the summer window and then of course we’ve missed.
“Earlier in the summer we made some good additions but we still would have liked maybe to add one or two more pieces in the summer in the forward areas and then of course George Hirst has missed the 19 league games we’ve had.
“That’s a big loss, that’s put a lot of burden on Liam Delap as a really young striker. Thankfully he’s handled that burden well but we still want to add in different areas of the pitch and we want to add more goals in the forward area if possible.”
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