A future at Liverpool? The following Salah?
Doak could also be 19 however he already has an enormous CV of coaches he has labored below in a brief house of time.
He has a former Premier League winner in Carrick as his present mentor, Ange Postecoglou gave the ahead his Celtic first-team debut, whereas Jurgen Klopp did the identical at Liverpool in November 2022.
Klopp’s Liverpool had been often referred to as “mentality monsters” and it’s no shock that Doak match into the first-team setting.
The German was overheard describing the winger as “the present and future of Scotland” throughout a coaching session final 12 months – and Doak’s mentality has been seen for some time.
“He was never a player who was messing around and carrying on,” says Anderson. “He was very grounded, always wanted to learn and always listening.”
That mentality is required within the Championship. As defenders discover his tempo, the Scot has discovered to fulfill aggression head sturdy.
After Doak was on the receiving finish of a nasty problem by Oxford Utd’s Elliott Moore final month, Carrick mentioned the ahead “has to learn to deal with it”.
“Even at that level it could be aggressive were high tackles and knocks and because he was such a fast player he would obviously get fouled – no matter how hard the tackle, he would just get straight back up and roll his socks up.
“He had that aggressive side to him in the right way, mentality-wise he was very strong at such a young age. So it’s no surprise he’s doing so well, he’s got that mentality.”
It’s that mentality that might stand Doak in good stead, notably at Liverpool. The Scottish worldwide is prone to get a go at staking a spot in Slot’s first-team subsequent summer time – with the place of proper winger below stress by Mohamed Salah’s contract state of affairs.
“There’s that talk of him doing so well at Middlesbrough that he could be the replacement for Salah – these are huge boots to fill,” says Anderson.
“But with his mentality and his trajectory and where he’s going right now, the sky is the limit for him. He has the potential to go on and be a world-class player – you’re hearing ex-players and pundits saying the same thing. If they’re seeing it…
With Middlesbrough and Scotland, it is clear Doak is not too dissimilar from Salah in terms of style: a winger who enjoys setting up team-mates just as much as scoring.
But heed the reminder that Doak still has a long way to go – and that he is still a little boy compared to the potential he possesses.
“With the Scotland team, I can see he’s very passionate as well – his celebrations when scoring, or he’s assisting, he still celebrates like he scores a goal,” says Anderson.
“There are definitely qualities from a nine-year-old that he still has now.”
Watch Burnley vs Middlesbrough dwell on Sky Sports activities this Friday from 7pm, kick-off 8pm
