Ben Doak is a wanted man – will FSG repeat familiar Liverpool transfer trick in 2025? | OneFootball

With Ben Doak attracting plenty of interest in the January transfer window, Liverpool find themselves in a familiar position.

Over the past few years, there have been numerous young players who appeared to be on the cusp of a significant breakthrough at Anfield, only for the club to accept an offer for them in acknowledgement that they’d enjoy more frequent first-team opportunities elsewhere.

The Reds have already rejected bids from Crystal Palace and Ipswich for the Scotland international this month, although GIVEMESPORT reported that both clubs are likely to submit follow-up offers after being informed that they might be able to secure him for £20m, a 33% reduction on his initial asking price.

Like a poker player assessing their options for betting, Liverpool have a decision to make. Do they keep faith in the 19-year-old and afford him the opportunity to establish himself once he returns from Middlesbrough, or do they take a calculated gamble and cash in when they sense that a good deal is in the offing?

They’ve gone down the latter route several times before, and it’s generally proven to be the right choice.

(Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

Jordon Ibe

The tricky winger had some impressive cameos under Brendan Rodgers in 2015 and scored the goal which gave Jurgen Klopp his second win as Liverpool manager later that year, making 41 appearances during the German’s first season in charge.

However, when Bournemouth put £15m on the table in the summer of 2016, the Reds were content to allow him become the Cherries’ then-record signing. He spent four years on the south coast but scored just five times in 92 games as then-manager Eddie Howe admitted that the player had been a ‘disappointment’.

Having later gone on to play for Adanaspor, Ebbsfleet United and Hayes & Yeading United, the now 29-year-old revealed in 2021 that he’d been suffering from depression.

Harry Wilson

The Welsh wizard was a regular on the international stage throughout his time as a Liverpool player, but curiously placed just two senior competitive games for the Reds, both in domestic cup competitions.

When he scored a thunderbolt against Lyon in a pre-season friendly in 2019, it felt as though he might finally explode into the scene at Anfield, but he never stood a chance of breaking up the celebrated attacking triumvirate of Mo Salah, Bobby Firmino and Sadio Mane.

After six loan spells away from Merseyside, LFC eventually sold him to Fulham for £12m. It doesn’t look like huge money for a player who’s already scored five times in the Premier League this season, but it still made sense for Liverpool to cut him loose so that his talents could be fully appreciated elsewhere.

Rhian Brewster

The young forward had made three first-team outings for Liverpool when they loaned him to Swansea in January 2020, and he thrived in south Wales with 11 goals in 22 appearances before turning to Anfield with fresh hope of making the breakthrough under Klopp.

Instead, he played just once more for the Reds before they accepted a £23.5m offer from Sheffield United in October 2020. It turned out to be an inspired call by then-sporting director Michael Edwards, as injury problems have plagued the 24-year-old at Bramall Lane, where he’s scored just six times in 100 games.

(Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)

Sepp van den Berg

Liverpool signed the Dutch defender as a 17-year-old in 2019 and gave him four appearances in domestic cups in his first season at Anfield, but that’d prove to be the entirety of his senior game-time on Merseyside.

He spent four years on loan at three different clubs before Arne Slot gave him an opportunity in pre-season last summer. Despite turning in some fine performances on the tour, the Reds were happy to let him join Brentford for £25m in August.

He’s been a fixture in Thomas Frank’s side ever since, although FSG couldn’t argue with the fee that they pocketed for someone who barely had a look-in with LFC.

Fabio Carvalho

The enigmatic forward also left Liverpool for Brentford last summer, costing the Bees an initial £22.5m with a further £5m in add-ons.

The promise that he showed when scoring a 98th-minute winner against Newcastle shortly after his arrival at Anfield in 2022 was never fulfilled, with contrasting fortunes on loan at RB Leipzig and Hull in the following campaign.

Unlike Van den Berg, Carvalho has endured a miserable time in west London, struggling to break into the starting XI and scoring just twice in his first 20 appearances, with many of their fans yet to be convinced by the 22-year-old.