THE word is very much out on Middlesbrough’s loan star Ben Doak.
And the teenager only enhanced his already considerable reputation with a blistering display for Scotland on Friday night that had pundits purring and opposing defenders glad for the full-time whistle.
One of those defenders was Manchester City’s £77m man Josko Gvardiol, who was given a night to forget by Doak when Croatia fell to a 1-0 defeat at Hampden.
There’s every chance you’ll have already seen the clip of Doak turning Gvardiol and dashing away from the defender with ease.
“He’s one of the best in the world. It’s good to test yourselves against players of that calibre and I think we both had our moments where we got the best of each other,” said the winger.
“I don’t see faces or names in the other team, I just see a kit and blank face.
“I don’t really take too much notice because if I’m good enough to be on the pitch then I should be up to the level of everyone else.”
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Doak has spent plenty of time on the pitch this season. After missing the second half of last season through injury, the 19-year-old has quickly established himself as a key figure for Michael Carrick at Boro and Steve Clarke with Scotland.
Liverpool have a January recall clause but there’s no expectation at this stage that they’ll get the winger back to Anfield, with the Premier League leaders delighted with how the loan move is playing out.
And as much as Doak has big ambitions at Liverpool moving forward, he too will surely want to see the loan out at Boro, where he’s cherishing the opportunity of regular action.
“I just love playing football really, that’s all it is,” he said.
“I had a really tough period out with injury so you can imagine how frustrating that was so just to be back playing every week is great.
“I’m playing week in and week out and I feel that just comes with playing every week and I’m enjoying my football.”
Doak is a matchwinner for club and country but pressure doesn’t come with expectation for the youngster.
“I don’t notice all of that. I try and do my best for the team and do what I do best,” he said.
“If I can help us win the game then I’ll help us win the game. But I’m with two teams, Scotland and Middlesbrough, who are full of matchwinners and really good players who are full of quality.
“So if a game comes down to one of my actions then great, if it comes to one of the other lads then that’s also great as long as we win the game.”
Doak has only once played the full 90 minutes at Boro but understands why.
“At Boro the gaffer likes to keep the frontline fresh so, depending how the game is going, if we are chasing the game then he tends to leave certain players on,” he says.
“If we are relaxed or cruising then he will take off the full frontline basically.
“[For Scotland on Friday] The gaffer saw fit to keep me on the pitch (until 92nd minute) so it was great. I was just happy to see my number not come up.”
Doak has made a big impact in the Scotland dressing room.
“His pace is scary. He’s a good lad,’ said striker Lyndon Dykes.
“He’s at Middlesbrough at the moment, getting game time, but he’s performing week in, week out.
“The experienced boys here have got him under their arm and he’s learning every day. I’m sure he’s going to have a great Scotland career and club career.”
And attacking midfielder Ryan Gauld insists Doak won’t get ahead of himself.
“He’ll just take it on his stride,” he said.
“As much as I’m sure he knows, there’s a lot of his game that he can work on.
‘He’s got a big future ahead of him if he keeps up the way he’s been playing so far.”
