Ben Doak called up for Scotland despite Liverpool absence – loan move likely

Ben Doak has been called up for international duty with Scotland despite not playing for Liverpool since Liverpool’s pre-season friendly against Las Palmas.

Manager Steve Clarke has once again shown his faith in Doak by including him in Scotland’s squad for their upcoming internationals, against Poland and Portugal in the Nations League.

Since playing against Las Palmas in a friendly on August 11, the 18-year-old winger hasn’t been involved in match action for Liverpool’s senior team or under-21 side.

This is due to him reportedly being available for a loan before the transfer window closes on August 30.

Since the beginning of the Premier League season, Doak has also seen himself dropped from first-team training due to Arne Slot trimming the size of his training group.

However, this hasn’t put off Scotland coach Clarke who has selected Doak as part of a second successive squad.

The Liverpool youngster was also picked in his nation’s provisional squad for Euro 2024 despite having not played since December due to injury.

In the end, another setback meant Doak couldn’t take part in the tournament.

What next?

Things should become clearer for Doak come the transfer deadline.

Should he remain at Liverpool, he could be reintegrated into the first-team squad at some point but, in the meantime, will at least be starring for Barry Lewtas‘ under-21s and playing in the EFL Trophy against senior Football League teams.

If Doak leaves temporarily or permanently, it could give his chances of starting for Scotland a boost should he perform well at his new club.

For a player that has played such little Football in 2024, getting Doak on the pitch regularly surely has to be Liverpool’s priority in the short term.

Looking at the bigger picture, the youngster’s future still looks extremely bright but he will have to work hard to impress Slot and become a more important part of the squad.

Last week, the Dutchman spoke about how some of Liverpool’s academy graduates have been left with tough decisions to make.

“It’s always like this,” Slot said.

“They come through the ranks of the youth academy and either then you’re good enough to play for us many minutes or you’re still not there, or there’s too much comPetition in your position.

“I think still this team, with what we have, has a lot of homegrown players. One of them, Trey Nyoni, is also training with us on a daily basis at only 17.

“So this club will always bring good youngsters.

“It’s always a challenge to find the right moment, either to play them or if they’ve played quite a lot of minutes they want to make the next step in their career.”

While Slot is perhaps yet to be sold on Doak, at least the 18-year-old has the support of his international boss, Clarke.