Ben Doak quit Celtic for Liverpool and believes that Jurgen Klopp intentionally keeps young players away from the first team stars.
The Reds splashed the cash on Darwin Nunez over the summer but their recruitment of young prospects has continued too.
Calvin Ramsay and Fabio Carvalho arrived as depth for the first team but there were deals lower down the ranks too.
Trent Kone-Doherty has arrived from Derry City whilst Celtic were raided for the signing of attacking midfielder Ben Doak.
Ben Doak quit Celtic for Liverpool
Doak’s arrival felt like a really exciting move.
The 16-year-old made two first-team appearances for Celtic last season having impressed Bhoys boss Ange Postecoglou.
Liverpool managed to tempt him away though and Doak already has three goals and three assists in six games for Liverpool’s Under-18’s.
There are very high hopes for Doak, who can play as a winger or attacking midfield player and has already bagged a goal in just one cap for Scotland’s Under-21’s.
Yet if Doak has hopes of breaking into the Liverpool first team picture any time soon, he may need to think again.
Doak has told The Herald that he hasn’t even seen much of Liverpool’s first-team players at the AXA Training Centre since joining the Reds.
Doak believes that is a deliberate idea from Jurgen Klopp and co, keeping first-team stars away from the youth prospects so the step up feels like a privilege rather than the norm.
That does make some sense.
If Doak immediately rubbed shoulders with the likes of Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah, that feeling of being around the top stars would lose its shine.
By keeping the first team away from the youth team, Doak knows there is a huge gap to be bridged, keeping him pushing and striving for improvement.
The teenager added that he is trying to add more defensive work to his game in order to become a better all-round player – something Klopp will surely love.
“Six months ago you would never have found me defending whatsoever. And that’s the difference between making it into a first team player rather than just a youth player,” said Doak.
“I am trying to turn my all-round game into a strength. I have not seen the first team too often, but I think that’s deliberate and to make you want to get up there. If I saw them all the time it wouldn’t be normal. It should be a privilege to be up there,” he added.
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