Liverpool's 'fearless' wonderkid Ben Doak is outperforming Kylian Mbappé and Mohamed Salah at the EFL club

Ben Doak is quickly emerging as one of the most exciting young talents in European football.

The 19 year old Liverpool The star moved to Anfield in March 2022 from Celtic and quickly emerged as one of the club's most exciting young players.

After making 10 senior appearances under Jurgen Kloppthe end joined Middlesbrough on a season-long loan deal in the Championship, where he has left fans very excited about what he has to offer.

One goal and three assists in 10 games for Michael CarrickThe San Francisco team, with three assists in its last two games, has shown everyone what it is capable of, but those statistics do not tell the full story.

Known for his dribbling ability, Doak has accumulated 39 carries into the penalty area (CPA) this season, according to FBref.

That figure makes him the fourth-best player in this metric in the top five European leagues plus the Championship.

Places it higher than real Madrid superstar Kylian Mbappé and Liverpool Mohamed Salah who have 36 CPA each.

What's even more impressive is that Doak has only played 683 minutes this season, compared to Mbappe's 937 and Salah's 963.

Doak is on par with Viktor Gyokeres in the CPA, who has shone for Sporting Lisbon this season and places him firmly on the radar of manchester united and several other elite clubs.

The only two players above Doak in CPA are Paris Saint-Germain forward Bradley Barcola (40) and Ballon d'Or runner-up Vinicius Jr (44).

As well as shining for Middlesbrough, Doak received huge praise for his performance for Scotland against Croatia, in which he gave Manchester City superstar Josko Gvardiol one hell of a game after causing a disturbance at Hampden Park.

Reflecting on Doak's rise, Scottish football legend Ally McCoist could not hide her excitement.

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Asked how Doak's increased playing time at Middlesbrough has helped his development, McCoist told talkSPORT: “He has benefited and the national team has benefited in a way you have no idea.

“At the Euro we tried to achieve any level of width, but in the future it is a different level when you have a winger who has something different.

“He has been the true success story of the last few games and, without getting carried away, he has been fabulous.

“He gave Josko Gvardiol a bit of an advantage in the Croatia game, but Ben Doak is fantastic.

“He has exceptional potential.

“I'm not going to compare it with Judas Bellingham but I will do it in the sense that it plays freely.

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“When Bellingham came on the scene as a young man, he was fearless and seemed to love every minute; Ben Doak seems to be in the same place.

“There is a freshness to him and he has given us something very different in the forward area and we haven't had that for a long, long time.

“We haven't had someone who can beat someone with pace, beat someone with a step forward in years because in the modern game you need someone to get by someone to make everything open up.

“The defenses are so well organized now that you need someone who can make a difference and in the last two games he has been a great observer.”

Explaining why he decided to join Middlesbrough, Doak explained: “I went on the pre-season tour with Liverpool, I had a good time, I got some minutes for the first time since my injury last year and I think I made a good impression before the game.” . injury.

“I had some clubs with their eyes on me. The club also helped me choose, I watched some Boro games and met some of the lads here.

“I didn't think there was a much better place than Boro, especially to be honest, they have the ball on the right side and the team naturally adapts to my game.

“The club (Liverpool) helps you narrow down the possibilities, then you talk to the coaches and then you choose the team you like and Arne Slot He obviously approved of the election.

“He said that Michael's team plays very good football, that he has the team playing very well.”

If he can continue his rise to stardom, it wouldn't be a surprise to see Doak shine for Liverpool under Slot next season.