Former Scotland international Allan Hutton believes Jurgen Klopp sees Ben Doak as Liverpool's "future" but admits the 17-year-old may have to leave Merseyside on loan following Cody Gakpo's arrival.
Having signed from Celtic earlier this year, Doak wrote himself into the Premier League record books after coming off the bench in the Reds' 3-1 Boxing Day triumph at Aston Villa, becoming the youngest-ever Scottish player to feature in a top-flight match.
Much has been made of the Anfield prodigy's potential following an impressive debut display in Liverpool's penalty shootout Carabao Cup win against Derby County and he has since gone on to earn a call-up for Scotland's under-21 side.
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Nevertheless, Doak is likely to have to wait for an immediate route into the first-team following the news of Cody Gakpo's imminent arrival from PSV.
Alongside Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez, Roberto Firmino, Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz, Gakpo will slot into a formidable-looking attacking group, supplemented by the talent of Harvey Elliot and Fabio Carvalho.
Understandably, minutes will be hard to come by for Doak and Hutton told Football Insider that his development could be best-served elsewhere for now. When asked if a temporary move away from Liverpool would prove beneficial, Hutton said: "Yes, definitely.
"I think Klopp sees him in the Liverpool starting line-up in the future, but maybe not at this moment in time because they are going to bring in different players from different positions to strengthen right now..
"Players like Doak are obviously the future. But the opportunity has to be there for them to go out and play football on loan.
"But it has to be the right club, it has to fit their style of football. I expect it to happen if the right club is found."
Dutch attacker Gakpo, meanwhile, is set to sign for Liverpool off the back of an impressive World Cup campaign. He netted three goals in as many Group A matches for Louis van Gaal's side, progressing to the quarter-finals in Qatar before losing out to eventual winners Argentina.
The ECHO understands that talks between Liverpool and PSV have reached an advanced stage, having significantly stepped up in recent days. The initial fee will stand around the £37m figure with add-ons likely to take the deal past the £40m mark.
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