Bournemouth are reportedly on the verge of finalizing a £25 million agreement to acquire Liverpool winger Ben Doak. The 19-year-old Scotland international is attracting significant interest from other clubs, including Porto, but is likely to remain in the Premier League.
Doak's potential move to Bournemouth comes after a summer where several clubs expressed interest in him, including Wolves, West Ham, Nottingham Forest, Everton, Brentford, and PSV Eindhoven. However, Bournemouth have emerged as the frontrunners in securing his signature.
Liverpool signed Doak from Celtic in 2022 for a training compensation fee of around £600,000. This move would represent a significant profit for Liverpool.
The transfer is occurring in the context of Bournemouth's Dango Ouattara potentially joining Brentford for £42.5 million. Bournemouth's transfer budget was also boosted by receiving £40m from Liverpool earlier this summer for left-back Milos Kerkez. Furthermore, Luis Sinisterra is expected to move on loan to Cruzeiro.
Doak's future at Liverpool appeared promising initially under Jürgen Klopp. However, with Klopp's departure, injuries, and Mohamed Salah's strong form, a move elsewhere became increasingly likely for Doak to revitalize his career.
Doak spent the previous season on loan at Middlesbrough in the Championship. He made a strong impact, scoring three goals and providing seven assists in 24 appearances. However, his season was cut short in late January due to a thigh injury that required surgery.
Liverpool have been active in the transfer market this summer, with Arne Slot adding to the squad through heavy spending. The departure of Doak would further reduce Liverpool's attacking options, after deals for Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz. Slot has indicated the need for "at least" one more attacker.
Despite featuring in four pre-season games, playing 220 minutes, Doak's role in the second-string side against Athletic Club suggested he was not central to Arne Slot's plans. His departure would be considered pure profit on Liverpool's books, similar to deals involving Trent Alexander-Arnold, Caoimhin Kelleher, Quansah, Morton and Nat Phillips.
Interestingly, Liverpool and Bournemouth are scheduled to play each other in their Premier League season opener. Doak has been withdrawn from the squad for Friday's game against Bournemouth.
