Premier League captain raves about Liverpool youngster who is 'so explosive and has 'sheer pace'

John McGinn believes that Ben Doak has the ability to get Scotland fans off their seats.

The Liverpool winger will be hoping to make his senior international debut against Poland at Hampden Park tonight (19.45 BST). Doak was named in Scotland’s Euro 2024 squad but had to pull out because of an injury.

The 18-year-old is highly regarded at Anfield. Signed from Celtic two years ago, Doak quickly fasttracked his way into the first-team picture. In total, he’s made 10 appearances for the Reds, with three in the Premier League.

After missing much of the 2023-24 season with a serious knee injury, the youngster has been loaned to Championship side Middlesbrough for the remainder of this campaign to get regular senior minutes under his belt.

He currently on Scotland duty where he has so far impressed his team-mates - including Aston Villa captain McGinn. Via the Daily Record, McGinn said: “I think everyone’s aware of his ability and he’s certainly something different to what we’ve got. Hopefully we can see that on Thursday.

“Even in training, he’s so explosive. Sheer pace, power, strength. It’s certainly something we’ve been missing over the past couple of seasons. He’s definitely going to bring something different there and hopefully we can see. He’ll definitely get supporters off their seats.”

Scotland are hoping to bounce back after a miserable Euros. Competing in their first major tournament in 26 years, Steve Clarke’s side failed to get out of the group as they took just one point from three games. McGinn revealed Doak quipped that wouldn’t have happened had he been involved, much to the squad’s amusement. He added: “Not just Ben’s ability but his character.

“He cheered me up last night. There was only five or six of us that arrived because a lot of the boys were travelling and played yesterday. We were touching on the Euros and he said: ‘Aye, if I stayed fit it might have been different!’ That’s just his character and it’s brilliant. He’s got a lot of confidence, he’s a good laugh and he’s fitted in well.”