Celtic have seen many players come through their youth academy and go on to become important first-team figures for the Hoops such as Calum McGregor, James Forrest and Anthony Ralston among others.
However, it seems as though the Parkhead club could be in danger of letting one future star slip through their hands in the coming months.
What’s the talk?
Speaking to Football FanCast, journalist and transfer insider Pete O’Rourke had this to say about the possibility of Hoops youngster Ben Doak leaving the club in the near future after being linked with a move to Premier League club Liverpool in recent weeks.
He said: “To see him possibly leave for a move down to Liverpool would come as a blow because I think Celtic did have high hopes for him in the future that he could become a regular in the first team.
“That’s why they were offering some minutes this season as well.”
Not good news for the Hoops
As O’Rourke mentioned, the teenager has played in two SPFL games for Ange Postecoglou’s side in this campaign, the first of which came back in January where he played 22 minutes against Dundee United which was then followed by a brief three-minute cameo in the Hoops’ 3-0 win over Rangers.
According to Bhoys Analytics on Twitter, Doak is a name that “Celtic fans should get familiar with” before naming him a “generational talent”, highlighting the buzz and excitement around the teenager.
Taking all of this into account, it seems as though the Parkhead club are very much in danger of seeing their young prospect follow in the footsteps of previous Celtic players to make the move to the Premier League. For instance, the likes of Victor Wanyama, Virgil van Dijk, Stuart Armstrong, Fraser Forster, Kieran Tierney, Kristoffer Ajer and Odsonne Edouard have all departed.
Although Ange Postecolgou’s side are doing pretty well in the SPFL at the moment sitting at the top of the league table with 76 points on the board from 31 games played, losing Doak will definitely be a blow for them in the long term.
Should the youngster end up moving and making a name for himself on the big stage at Liverpool, it would not only dishearten a lot of Hoops supporters but would surely leave them gutted at the same time.
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