Who is Ben Doak? Liverpool teenager makes bench for Southampton match

When Liverpool's team for their match against Southampton was announced at 2pm on Saturday, there was a surprise name amongst the substitutes.

Jurgen Klopp has put faith in teenager Ben Doak, after his exciting cameo against Derby County on Wednesday evening, by including him in his list of substitutes. But who is he and why has he suddenly shot to prominence?

Liverpool snapped up forward Doak from Celtic in the summer, paying the Scottish Champions £600,000 for his services. That is already looking like a modest fee after Doak, still only 16 on his arrival, started to blaze a trail in Barry Lewtas' Liverpool U18s team.

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So for this season, Doak has played in the U18 Premier League, Premier League 2, UEFA Youth League and the EFL trophy and has scored in all of them. It is in the European competition where he has been most eye-catching, scoring four goals and providing four assists in six matches.

Doak's natural ability to run past players with the ball at his feet has been turning heads in Liverpool's youth set-up, leading to Jurgen Klopp giving him an early chance by naming him on the bench against Derby County on Wednesday evening.

That he even got on in a tight game for a player so young, is a vote of confidence from Klopp in his ability, but his positive performance and willingness to show for the ball at every opportunity appears to have resonated with the German, so much so that he has rewarded him with his first Premier League appearance on the substitutes bench.

Should the young Scot, who only turned 17 yesterday, make it onto the pitch today, he could cap off what could be a birthday week to remember as he tries to lay his claim has the future star of the Kop.

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