Liverpool’s Ben Doak Reflects on Decision to Join Middlesborough on Loan

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The 18-year-old winger made ten first team appearances in the past two seasons and joined the Championship side as he targets playing time.

With Liverpool’s attacking depth, minutes were always going to be hard to come by this season for promising 18-year-old forward Ben Doak, and the late arrival of Federico Chiesa from Juventus only made the situation more congested for the young Scottish winger.

With a depth chart running two deep ahead of him at every attacking position, then, it was’t a massive surprise when Doak then made the loan switch to Championship promotion playoff hopefuls Middlesbrough just before the summer transfer window slammed shut.

“It feels great to be here,” Doak said this week of his home for the 2024-25 season. “I cannot wait to get out there in front of the fans and get my career up and running. This is a Premier League club, really, and I can imagine the fans are desperate to get back up there.”

Middlesborough were an established Premier League side throughout the early 2000s, returning to the top flight in 2001 after a brief relegation and staying there through 2009. Outside 2016-17, though, they’ve spent every year since in English football’s second tier.

Last season, they finished four points out of the playoff places in their first full season under Michael Carrick and Doak, who has made ten Liverpool appearances over the past two seasons despite his young age, will be expected to play a key role in any success.

“I knew a few of the lads here and I spoke to the gaffer,” Doak added. “That’s really what convinced me. I know how big the club is and how big the fanbase is. I’ll be just happy to be playing. Obviously coming from such a big club, it can be difficult to get games.

“My aim this season is to just improve as a player, and you can only really do that by playing games regularly. So hopefully I can give good performances. Time will tell, but hopefully I can just go out there and do what I do and please the fans with my performances.”