Ben Doak set to be unleashed at Hampden send off as Liverpool starlet catches eye of Scotland boss Steve Clarke
Ben Doak is in line to make a stunning Scotland debut at Hampden next month at the Tartan Army’s big Euros send-off.
Liverpool’s wonderkid was named as wildcard inclusion in Steve Clarke’s provisional squad 28-man squad for this summer’s tournament in Germany - despite spending most of the season on Jurgen Klopp’s casualty list and only recently returning to first team training. Doak’s call-up was one of a number of bold moves by the manager who also reinstated Old Firm veterans James Forrest and Ryan Jack while drafting in uncapped Bristol City defender Ross McCrorie to offer cover as an emergency right back.
Clarke says all three of those players will now be in contention - along with Celtic’s Anthony Ralston - to plug the gap left by injuries to Araon Hickey and Nathan Patterson which have ruled both his first and second picks out of the running. But it’s the fast-tracking of 18-year-old attacker Doak which is likely to fire up the imagination of fans turning up at the national stadium on June 7 for Scotland’s farewell friendly against Finland. And Clarke is already planning to get the youngster - who Klopp views as a potential long term replacement for Mo Salah - into a dark blue shirt.
Asked if Doak might win a first full cap in either of the two remaining preparation matches - the first of which comes against Gibraltar in the Algarve a week on Monday, Clarke said: “He is fit and back training with his club. He did a little bit with the team last week and we will speak to his club. We will keep in touch with them and, from the two games, the first game might come a little bit too soon. But maybe in the second game he can get some minutes on the pitch if I choose to do that.”
And Clarke went on to admit Doak is a player who has ‘captured his attention’ after bursting onto the scene on Merseyside. The manager said: “At this stage, Ben is the young one who catches my eye if I am being honest. He has got something, attributes that we don’t have in the squad. His searing pace would be one of them.
“But he has still got a lot to learn, as do all the young boys when you bring them in. Everyone has got to learn. Ben hopefully will be a big player for us in the future and maybe this summer he can make a little contribution as well.”
Clarke, however, is cautious of placing too much pre-tournament hype on the teenager’s shoulders. He said: “It becomes a danger if you put too much pressure on a young boy who is still learning the game and making his way in the game. It is nice that he is involved in the squad but let’s just keep a lid on things and hope that he develops and turns out to be the talent that we think and hope he can be.”
Clarke, though, acknowledges that Doak’s call-up is a sign of the need to refresh his squad once this summer’s big adventure comes to an end. He said: “I look at this group of players – and I don’t want to make a big point of it – but there are some who are starting to age a little bit.
“At some stage there has to be a refresh, which is a bit of a nod to Ben Doak for this one. We need to start thinking that maybe we have to change in the future. But it seems that this group of players, the vast majority of them, deserve to be going to a major tournament.”
And that, says Clarke, includes Forrest and Jack who could offer experienced solutions to the problem position on the right side of his defence. The manager - who will have to cut two places before taking his squad to their Alpine HQ ahead of a Group A opener against Germany - said: “There is cover in the squad. I have tried to cover all positions, all possibilities. There is still a bit tumbling around in my mind that I need to see over the next 10 days, half a dozen training sessions and two friendlies. Then I can firm up what I do when I go to Germany.”