Liverpool are reportedly already negotiating contract terms with Feyenoord boss Arne Slot as the Reds close in on Jurgen Klopp's successor.
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Sruthi Ravindranath in Wayanad06-Feb-2019Playing franchise T20 cricket has helped young batsmen to “hit the ball”, a skill that can be transferred to all other formats, according to England Lions coach Andy Flower.Flower’s views come in a week in which the senior team’s coach, Trevor Bayliss, blamed England players’ “ODI mindset” for their dismal performance in the opening two Tests against West Indies.While the senior side was receiving a thrashing at the hands of Jason Holder’s men in Barbados and Antigua, the second-string England side in Thiruvananthapuram were subjected to similar treatment against India A in the five-match ODI series, which the hosts won 4-1.Ahead of their first four-day unofficial Test in Wayanad, Flower called the shorter formats “fun” for youngsters, and also praised the ECB’s newly proposed format, The Hundred.”I think one positive aspect that comes from playing franchise cricket is that the young players are learning to pick the bat up and hit the ball,” Flower said. “And the bowlers are learning different skills. And those are transferrable skills in the all three formats.”There’s soon to be a fourth format in England. I think it’s actually a positive thing. It’s lovely seeing batsmen pick up the bat and hit the ball to the boundary. Certainly, for youngsters, it’s a fun way to play. I think it can help one develop in all formats of the game.”Flower’s opinions could not have been more encouraging for Lions’ captain Sam Billings. Billings, who has played in 15 ODIs and 18 T20Is, had chosen to prioritise the IPL over England’s first-class competition in the last few years and is yet to establish himself as a red-ball player.In a bid to prove his Test credentials, he played eight matches for Kent in Division Two last season, making 370 runs at 30.83 and captaining the side to promotion.But Billings has admitted that he would continue playing in the IPL despite being questioned for his abilities as a red-ball player, saying he would absorb the lessons from the tournament and seek to transfer them to the longer format.”In the last few years of my career I’ve played white-ball cricket, just somehow I’ve played a lot of it,” Billings said. “I’ve been a part of the ODI team for the last three years or so, but obviously haven’t found myself in the team consistently anyway. And obviously the IPL cuts into the four-day championship at home. I’ve made a decision to play in the IPL. It is opportunity I can turn down, but I stand by that decision to play again this year.”But the way the opportunity is working now, I’m getting to play more red-ball cricket. As long as my attitude and the things I control and my work ethic towards the game is right, I have no doubt I can translate these into performances in the longer format. I’m a bit immature in the terms of my development in the long format so I’m looking forward to try and progress in that.”While Flower backed Billings’ decision, he pointed out that playing county cricket would still be good enough for an overall understanding of the game.”In Sam’s case, he’s played a lot of IPL in the last few years. So that means he misses on about two months of playing first-class in England. And those two months in itself is a lovely learning experience. But like most things in life I suppose you get different benefits from various experiences.”Flower, who was appointed as Lions’ coach in 2014, has played a key role in supplying a number of players to the national side. More recently, four players – Keaton Jennings, Ben Foakes, Sam Curran and Jack Leach – who gained experience of playing in Sri Lankan conditions during Lions’ tour of 2016-17, impressed during England’s 3-0 win in the island in November.However, Flower feels the Lions set-up does not match the standards of the India A side, referring to the change-up in their programme since Rahul Dravid took over as coach in 2015.”It’s quite a contrast from how the India A team is set up,” Flower said. “It looks to me that since Dravid’s introduction to the development area, investment in terms of money and in terms of commitment has increased, be it like triangular series where you’ve sometimes have two Indian teams playing.”That is mirrored in their Under-19s as well. I think that sort of increased investment is a very positive thing. In England, we’ve moved the other way. We’ve decreased investment in this area. So it’s quite an interesting contrast.”There are always budgetary pressures. I guess the decision makers always have to decide based on priority.”
The Saurashtra captain said that ‘nothing could be more special’ than their record chase in the quarter-final against Uttar Pradesh
Hemant Brar in Lucknow19-Jan-2019Before Saturday, Saurashtra had never won a match against Uttar Pradesh in the Ranji Trophy. They had played seven, losing three and conceding the first-innings lead thrice.That record didn’t look likely to change when Saurashtra ended their first innings against the same opponents in the Ranji Trophy 2018-19 quarter-final 177 runs in arrears. But this time, they made history, not only winning their first match against UP, but also registering the highest successful chase in Ranji history.Saurashtra had bowled UP out for 194 in the second innings, but that still left them a target of 372. But the top order came good as they bettered the previous highest successful chase, Assam’s 371 against Services in 2008-09.Saurashtra captain Jaydev Unadkat hailed the landmark victory. “I think this is one of the biggest victories in the history of Saurashtra,” Unadkat said after the match. “The way we fought back in the game made it more special. So probably one of the best, if not the best, victory for Saurashtra. I have been told it’s the highest run-chase in the Ranji Trophy. So nothing can be more special than this.”Two factors helped Saurashtra pull off the win. The fact that this was a five-day game, as opposed to the four-day games in the league stages, and that Saurashtra had Cheteshwar Pujara in their ranks.”No one was thinking that we were out of the game,” Unadkat said. “The thing that we talked about before the game was that it’s a five-day game, and not the usual four-day game we play in the Ranji Trophy. The talk in the team was it will be a two-innings game. Although we didn’t do well in the first innings, even if we had, we still would have been on our toes.”The great plus was that we had Cheteshwar as well. Actually, he was the one who took the initiative in between the innings and told us, ‘guys, it’s a five-day game and we can come back in this game’. And we all believed it.”There was one point in the game where we thought it was now-or-never when they [UP] were 107 for 1 [in their second innings]. I think it was drinks in between and then we told ourselves one good hour and we can turn around the game. [Dharmendrasinh] Jadeja has been our trump card so far, bowling well on all kinds of wickets. I was relying on him to give me that breakthrough and two set batsmen got out quickly and that brought us back in the game. And then we never left our grip from it.”For Pujara, this was the first game after a successful Australia tour during which he scored 521 runs in four Tests at an average of over 74, and was man of the series in India’s first-ever Test series win in Australia. While Pujara normally bats at No. 3, here he batted at No. 4 in the first innings, while in the second, the presence of Kamlesh Makvana as nightwatchman meant he came in at No.5. The man occupying the No.3 slot for Sausrashtra was the 20-year-old Vishvaraj Jadeja, who has made his debut this season.”The whole thing about that was we wanted our batting to revolve around him [Pujara],” Unadkat said. “Like if he bats at No. 4, then there can be two guys around him who can bat with him and then he can carry the innings forward. If the side is already 150 for 2 and Cheteshwar is still to come, things would be very different for the opposition. That was the whole idea and I think that turned out pretty good in the second innings.”Unadkat was also full of praise for youngsters Harvik Desai and Chetan Sakariya; both also playing their first season. Desai scored 84 and 116 in the game and was declared man of the match, while left-arm pacer Sakariya’s three-wicket burst in the second innings reduced UP from 162 for 4 to 166 for 7.”I think he [Desai] has been waiting for his century like no one else. He had got six fifties but didn’t get a hundred. So he was a bit nervous about being 83 not out at stumps [on Day 4]. Also, I haven’t seen a better slip catcher for Saurashtra than him. He has taken 15-16 catches without dropping even one. He is still very young, he is still learning but I think he has a bright career ahead of him.”We got a couple of fast bowlers injured before the start of the season itself. So we needed someone to turn up and do well. Even I got injured in between. Then Chetan took up that position and he really turned up like anything. He is one bowler who can be good in all three formats. I am really looking forward to keep bowling with him, and we can prove to be a really great bowling force for Saurashtra.”
Cesc Fabregas has been caught raging at Como's youth team in behind-the-scenes documentary footage.
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Tottenham Hotspur have agreed a deal to sign Bayern Munich midfielder Joao Palhinha on loan for the season with a €30 million (£26m) buy option. The 30-year-old will become the second player to join Spurs from the German champions this summer, following Mathys Tel's permanent switch. Palhinha will undergo medical tests before finalising the move to north London.
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There is no crisis to be dealt with but this is a team looking for a rebuild and long-term planning in all formats, apart from domestic reforms
Danyal Rasool26-Sep-2019There was a time when Misbah-ul-Haq, now hailed as the epitome of a cool, collected man in the most bubbling cauldron, looked like he would only be remembered for one ostensible moment of madness. Almost exactly 12 years ago to the day, he had gone down on one knee against Joginder Sharma and looked to use his pace to scoop him over fine leg, with Pakistan six runs away from winning the inaugural World T20.We all know what happened next. Joginder Sharma doesn’t have much pace to work with, and Sreesanth stood perched underneath the high ball, taking a comfortable catch, giving India that immortal five-run win. Misbah had been almost solely responsible for getting Pakistan to within one hit of victory, but fans directed much of their frustration towards his fateful choice of shot, and his failure to see the game through nervelessly.It was expected to be the tail-end of a meandering career that had seen most of its time on Pakistan’s nearly invisible domestic circuit, and indeed Misbah was on the verge of retiring when handed the captaincy three years later at the age of 36. Suddenly tasked with picking Pakistan back up after the spot-fixing scandal, which ensnared the then captain, the best bowler and his would-be successor, Misbah would become the country’s security blanket, a sanguine, imperturbable presence which shielded Pakistan from the next crisis that, invariably, seemed round the corner. No such crisis would come for seven years, the longest-ever unbroken stint by a Pakistani as captain.Is that what Pakistan want from him today, too? The present state of the team is worlds removed from that dispirited wretch he inherited almost a decade ago. There is no crisis in Pakistan cricket presently, no fires to be put out. No captains have been sacked or banned; in fact, there hasn’t been a single change of captain since Misbah retired and left the role for Sarfaraz Ahmed to take up. The recently concluded World Cup saw Pakistan finish outside the top four on net run rate alone. The T20I side is number one in the world. What is the need for a security blanket when everyone is nice and toasty already?
“The picture is clear to me, and it is only a matter of being confident about taking the right decisions. And that I’m ready to do.”Pakistan coach Misbah-ul-Haq
It isn’t, of course, quite as straightforward. After Misbah’s departure there was a slump in Pakistan’s Test form, though it may be argued that it had begun since before he retired, with the side losing six Tests on the bounce at one point before the career-capping victory in the West Indies that allowed him to go out on a high. Pakistan have now won seven and lost 15 of their last 23 Tests. Since Misbah’s retirement, they have won five of 14 Tests played, with eight losses. Nine months before Misbah retired, Pakistan were the top-ranked Test team in the world. Currently, they’re seventh.And then, of course, there are the domestic reforms, so inextricably linked to the Pakistan Cricket Board’s vision of a fresh approach to bringing talent through to the national side in an orderly fashion, groomed by what aspires to be a professional system. It is a facet of Pakistan cricket few know more about than Misbah. Until as recently as December 2018, Misbah played the Quaid-e-Azam trophy, consistently calling for higher standards of pitches and facilities on the domestic circuit, and a narrowing of the yawning quality gap between international and domestic cricket. He spent most of his early career relying on domestic cricket for his bread and butter, only getting a shot at regular international cricket after he was well into his 30s. This isn’t a man to pay lip service to the plight of domestic cricketers in this country; he experienced first-hand its benighted state for nearly half his career.It is a point he drew upon in Karachi today addressing a press conference ahead of the series against Sri Lanka, and termed it a major reason for accepting the job. “Obviously, it is a challenge for me, this role. Whenever you take on a new project, it is challenging. But the reason I accepted it was being Pakistan captain until very recently, and having played plenty of domestic cricket like I have, too, you know the facts on the ground very well. That equips you to take decisions with as much information as possible. It is far harder when you don’t know any of these things, and don’t know many of the players. The picture is clear to me, and it is only a matter of being confident about taking the right decisions. And that I’m ready to do.”ALSO READ: Five captains who became coachesThe series against Sri Lanka, set to begin in Karachi on Friday, may not provide much of an indicator of anything. International cricket’s return to Pakistan remains in those embryonic stages where the venue always upstages the scorecard, and with such a weakened Sri Lanka team travelling, this will by no means be Misbah’s biggest test as coach. But the brand of cricket Pakistan bring to the field in Karachi, as well as the players selected – Misbah, remember, is also the chief selector – makes it strategically intriguing enough to be worth paying attention to. Will Mohammad Rizwan, seen as Sarfaraz’s successor behind the stumps, play as a specialist batsman? Misbah said today, “You can’t survive without fitness in international cricket now.” But will that continue to bear out on the field?There may be no crisis, but Pakistan are looking for a rebuild. There are many questions and several uncertainties about the direction this team will take, and long-term planning is called for in each format. The World Test Championship is a two-year project, and with the World Cup just over, there are four years to work with before the next big event in the 50-over format. In T20 cricket, Pakistan need to sustain their momentum until the T20 World Cup next year. There will be times for considered contemplation, forensic detail and intelligence over impulse. You might not have believed it a dozen years ago, but today, that sounds like a mission for Misbah.
It’s no secret what Arsenal’s biggest weakness has been this season: their attack.
Injuries and poor form have seen Chelsea, Manchester City and Liverpool all score more goals than Mikel Arteta’s side in the Premier League.
Yet, for everything that’s gone wrong this year, the Gunners have still got the best defensive record in the competition, largely thanks to the incredible centre-back partnership of William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes.
Unfortunately, the pairing could soon be broken apart, with Real Madrid now upping the ante in their pursuit of the Frenchman.
However, it’s not necessarily all doom and gloom, as recent reports have linked Arsenal with another sensational centre-back who could prove to be a perfect replacement.
Transfer Focus
Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.
Because he has been performing at such a high level for a considerable period now, Saliba has long been linked with Real Madrid.
However, a recent report from French outlet L’Equipe has claimed that the Arsenal ace is now one of Los Blancos’ primary targets and someone they want to come in and lead the defence next season.
Losing the Bondy-born monster would undoubtedly be a massive setback for the North Londoners, but if they can secure the previously reported £86m for his services, then they can at least go out and look for a replacement.
In fact, that appears to be what they are doing already, as, according to a recent report from transfers expert Fabrizio Romano, Arsenal have maintained their strong interest in Bournemouth star Dean Huijsen, who is “the most in-demand centre-back in the world” in the words of data analyst Ben Mattinson.
Alongside the Gunners, Romano has revealed that Liverpool and Chelsea are also in the “race to sign” the Spanish international, who has a £50m release clause in his current contract.
It might be a lot to spend on a youngster, but given his ability and immense potential, it would be worth it, especially as he could be the ideal Saliba replacement.
If Arsenal can get ahead of the chasing pack and sign Huijsen in the coming weeks and months, what makes him a potentially great replacement for Saliba?
First and foremost, even though he has only recently turned 20, he already has plenty of top-level experience.
For example, in addition to the two senior caps he’s won for Spain, the potentially “world-class” gem, as dubbed by one analyst, has made 33 appearances for Bournemouth this term, 27 of which have been starts, scored three goals and provided one assist.
On top of that, Arsenal fans will already be annoyingly aware of his immense ability, as not only did he start in the Cherries home win over the North Londoners in late October, he started in their win over the weekend, where he won his fourth Man of the Match Award this season and scored his third goal.
Finally, when we directly compare him to the Gunners’ supremely talented number two, the “perfect” Spaniard, as dubbed by analyst Ben Mattinson, actually comes out on top.
|
Huijsen vs Saliba |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Statistics |
Huijsen |
Saliba |
|
Non-Penalty Expected G+As |
0.15 |
0.10 |
|
Non-Penalty G+As |
0.16 |
0.06 |
|
Progressive Passes |
4.68 |
4.15 |
|
Progressive Carries |
1.45 |
0.50 |
|
Passing Accuracy |
83.4% |
94.2% |
|
Key Passes |
0.56 |
0.22 |
|
Passes into the Final 1/3 |
5.89 |
5.42 |
|
Passes into the Penalty Area |
0.28 |
0.19 |
|
Shot-Creating Actions |
1.61 |
0.81 |
|
Goal-Creating Actions |
0.12 |
0.03 |
|
Tackles Won |
0.93 |
1.11 |
|
Blocks |
1.45 |
0.74 |
|
Interceptions |
1.98 |
0.65 |
|
Clearances |
7.06 |
3.44 |
|
Errors Leading to a Shot |
0.16 |
0.19 |
|
Ball Recoveries |
3.87 |
4.52 |
|
Aerial Duels Won |
2.58 |
1.80 |
|
All Stats via FBref for the 24/25 PL Season |
||
For example, he does better in practically every relevant metric, including but not limited to, expected and actual non-penalty goals plus assists, progressive and key passes, passes into the final third and penalty area, shot and goal-creating actions, blocks, interceptions, clearances, aerial duals won and more, all per 90.
Ultimately, while keeping hold of Saliba should be Arsenal’s primary objective, Huijsen looks like he’d be the perfect replacement.
If anything, he’s someone they should look to sign regardless of what happens to the Frenchman.
He'd revive Odegaard: Arsenal aiming to sign "the new Mbappe" in £85m deal
Arsenal need to sign a player who could revive the fortunes of Martin Odegaard.
1
By
Jack Salveson Holmes
May 5, 2025
The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner won't be much use to his country next year if he continues to play at a lower level
"Peace has cost you your strength; victory has defeated you," the muscle-bound, arch-villain Bane tells Batman after catching one of his punches in the hit movie 'The Dark Knight Rises'. The time-worn caped crusader continues to fight as hard as he can, but is ultimately left with a broken back at the end of the scene, having succumbed to the most dangerous pitfall of all: complacency.
There was a similar feeling of futility generated by watching Lionel Messi toil in the second half of Inter Miami's Club World Cup last-16 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain last weekend. Even at the ripe old age of 38, Messi was still able to produce dazzling moments of genius, including a beautiful first-time pass for Luis Suarez that should have earned him an assist, but it was nowhere near enough to lay a glove on an opponent operating at the highest possible technical and physical level.
It was sad to see perhaps the greatest player in the history of the sport fighting a battle he was never going to win. "The match was what was expected," Messi admitted to after the 4-0 thrashing. "They’re a great team, winners of the last Champions League, and they’re in really good shape. We tried to do our best, and I think we left a good impression at the Club World Cup."
Is simply leaving a "good impression" the goal now for Messi at this stage of his illustrious career? The diminutive wizard has found peace in Miami, but he's also become complacent, and that's bad news for Argentina one year out from their World Cup defence. However, fresh rumours of a potential return to Barcelona have also surfaced in recent days, which would change everything for Messi and the Albiceleste…
Also, how many times has a wicket fallen off the first ball of a Test?
Steven Lynch15-Aug-2017How many people have hit their maiden first-class century in a Test, as Hardik Pandya did in Pallekele? asked Chandrakant Sarwate from India
Hardik Pandya, whose previous highest score was 90, was the 41st batsman – the 14th in the current century – to score his maiden first-class hundred in a Test match. The first instance was in the very first Test match of all, by Charles Bannerman for Australia against England in Melbourne in 1876-77. Bannerman’s famous 165 retired hurt in that game was actually his only century in a career of 44 first-class matches. The list includes four other Indians: Vijay Manjrekar (1952), Kapil Dev (1978-79), Ajay Ratra (2001-02) and Harbhajan Singh (2010-11, in his 88th Test).How many wicketkeepers have been out for 99 in a Test, as Jonny Bairstow was? asked Michael Ward from England
Jonny Bairstow’s important 99 at Old Trafford was only the third such score by a wicketkeeper in a Test. The first to fall for 99 was Brendon McCullum, for New Zealand against Sri Lanka in Napier in 2004-05. He was followed by MS Dhoni, for India against England in Nagpur in 2012-13. Bairstow was the unlucky 13th batsman to be out for 99 in a Test for England, but the first since Kevin Pietersen against Bangladesh in 2009-10. Mike Atherton and MJK Smith were both dismissed for 99 twice, while Geoff Boycott – who was out for 99 against West Indies in Port-of-Spain in 1973-74 – was also stranded on 99 not out against Australia in Perth in 1979-80. Alex Tudor, against New Zealand at Edgbaston in 1999, is the only other man to make 99 not out in a Test innings for England.Who was the first man to play 100 ODIs? asked Wayne Johnstone from Australia
The first man to reach the milestone of 100 one-day international appearances was Australia’s Allan Border, in January 1985. The record he overhauled shortly before was held by another Australian, Rod Marsh, with 92. Border was also the first to play 200 ODIs, reaching the mark in February 1990, at which point Viv Richards had played 177 and Desmond Haynes 171. First to 300 was Mohammad Azharuddin, in September 1998; he had gone past Border’s final tally of 273 earlier that year. And the first of the four men so far to reach 400 was Sanath Jayasuriya, in October 2007. At that time Sachin Tendulkar had played 397 ODIs; he went past Jayasuriya in February 2011, and finished with 463 one-day caps.Hands up if you think he’s out for a golden duck•Getty ImagesThere were four first-ball ducks in South Africa’s second innings at The Oval – was this a record? asked George Symons from South Africa
South Africa’s disappointing second innings in the third Test at The Oval was indeed the first in Tests to contain four golden ducks – Faf du Plessis, Vernon Philander, Kagiso Rabada and Morne Morkel all perished first ball. With the proviso that there are several matches for which we don’t have complete ball-by-ball records, there appear to have been 12 previous instances of an innings containing three golden ducks, most recently by India (Abhinav Mukund, Harbhajan Singh and Praveen Kumar) against England at Trent Bridge in 2011. The first such instance was in an Ashes Test at Edgbaston in 1902, when the Australian trio of Warwick Armstrong, Ernie Jones and Bill Howell were all out first ball. In Melbourne in 2003-04, Sachin Tendulkar, Parthiv Patel and Ajit Agarkar were all out first ball, while Zaheer Khan also faced just one ball, but finished with 0 not out.I know that the first delivery of a Test match was hit for six only once, but how many times has the first ball of a Test match resulted in a wicket, and which team has done it most often? asked Allan Alexander from the United States
There have now been 30 instances of a batsman being dismissed by the first ball of a Test, most recently when Mitchell Starc dismissed Dimuth Karunaratne in the second Test in Galle in August 2016. West Indies have done it most often – eight times, helped by the fact that Pedro Collins three times dismissed Bangladesh’s Hannan Sarkar with the opening delivery of a match. Australia have started five different Tests with a first-ball wicket, England four, India, New Zealand, Pakistan and South Africa three, and Bangladesh one.Just in case anyone doesn’t know about the first-ball six you mention, it was struck by Chris Gayle off Bangladesh’s Sohag Gazi in Mirpur in 2012-13. It was actually Gazi’s first ball in Test cricket!Leave your questions in the comments section
Arne Slot is well on his way to securing his first Premier League title with Liverpool in his first attempt, currently sitting top of the tree on 67 points after 28 matches played, 13 points ahead of second-place Arsenal who do have one game in hand.
Liverpool are unsurprisingly the league’s top scorers, scoring 66 goals in their 28 games played, taking the most shots per game with 16.6 and averaging 56.7% possession; the fourth highest in the division.
Mohamed Salah has scored a whopping 25 Premier League goals this season, whilst also providing 17 assists and totaling 2,485 minutes played.
|
Liverpool’s top ten Premier League scorers 2024/25 |
|
|---|---|
|
Player |
Goals |
|
Mohamed Salah |
25 |
|
Luis Diaz |
9 |
|
Cody Gakpo |
8 |
|
Diogo Jota |
5 |
|
Dominik Szoboszlai |
5 |
|
Darwin Núñez |
4 |
|
Alexis Mac Allister |
3 |
|
Curtis Jones |
3 |
|
Trent Alexander-Arnold |
2 |
|
Ibrahima Konate |
1 |
Behind Salah, the likes of Luis Diaz, Cody Gakpo and Diogo Jota have all contributed with goals, as has Dominik Szoboszlai in recent weeks, being deployed as a false 9 at times under Slot.
This has left Darwin Nunez’s future in doubt, as he clearly finds himself out of favour.
Nunez was signed by Liverpool back in 2022, joining for a club-record fee of around £85m from Benfica.
Since joining the Reds, Nunez has made 132 appearances, scoring 39 goals, providing 22 assists and totalling 7,105 minutes played.
The story of Nunez’s time at Liverpool can largely be put into perspective with his missed chance against Aston Villa.
Whilst he gets himself into very good positions, working hard for the team and constantly offering a threat on the break, his ability to provide that final clinical touch has proven to evade him at times.
This term, he has missed 13 big chances which remarkably is an improvement on last season where he missed a colossal 38 across all competitions.
Some of his misses have been described as “unacceptable” by pundits, and the longer this continues, the more you begin to wonder if Nunez will eventually be replaced, even if it’s by someone from Liverpool’s academy system.
In The Pipeline
Football FanCast’s In the Pipeline series aims to uncover the very best youth players in world football.
The Reds are currently bringing through a number of highly-rated young forwards at the moment with Jayden Danns perhaps the most exciting from a striker perspective.
However, in the shape of Ben Doak, they have a winger who could also take minutes away from Nunez heading into Slot’s second term.
Liverpool signed Doak from Celtic back in 2022, with the youngster joining for a measly £600,000 compensation fee from the Scottish giants.
The 19-year-old has found himself on loan at Middlesbrough this season, making 24 appearances, scoring three goals, providing seven assists and totalling 1,789 minutes.
Doak can play on both wings, which opens the opportunity for Slot to continue using the likes of Diaz, Szoboszlai, Jota and even Curtis Jones through the middle, looking to exploit his attacking firepower out wide with the likes of Salah and Gakpo.
The Scotland international was described as a “special” young player by Jürgen Klopp, whilst Jones described the Liverpool youngster as a “potential game-changer” when he joined Boro in the summer on loan.
Doak is clearly an extremely talented player, who is expected to make the jump to Premier League football next campaign one way or another.
If Slot is willing to put his trust in the 19-year-old next season, Doak could offer some extra firepower to their attacking line, leaving the door open for Nunez to be sold, which may become more feasible if he remains out of favour under the Dutch manager.
Sold for £15m: Klopp’s Liverpool star is playing like a £100m Salah heir
This former Liverpool star could have been a valuable asset in Arne Slot’s system.
By
Angus Sinclair
Feb 28, 2025