'Celtic should be gutted' that they're losing Ben Doak, journalist Kaustubh Pandey has said. 

The lowdown

According to The Athletic's James Pearce, Premier League giants Liverpool are 'closing in' on the signing of the 16-year-old. Celtic are apparently in line to receive only 'minor compensation' given that the player hadn't signed a professional contract at Parkhead.

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The Hoops have tried to persuade Doak to stay amid interest from a host of 'top clubs' by demonstrating that 'a tangible first-team pathway' exists, but the lure of working under Jurgen Klopp has proved to be too strong for the teenager.

The latest

Pandey, the editor-in-chief of Get Italian Football News, gave his reaction to the news after Pearce's report was shared by his colleague Kieran Devlin, Celtic's correspondent for The Athletic.

Pandey tweeted: "This is a fantastic move. Ben Doak has impressed me whenever he's played this season and it again shows that Liverpool know they need to refresh a squad which will be ageing soon. Doak is an excellent signing, even though Celtic should be gutted."

The verdict

If Doak goes on to realise his potential on Merseyside, perhaps Celtic will be left wondering what might have been. Regrettably, the same goes for Parkhead alumni Liam Morrison (snapped up by Bayern Munich in 2019) and Josh Adam (lured to Manchester City a year later).

The 16-year-old is a player who, in the words of Pearce, possesses a litany of exciting attributes such as his 'incredible pace and directness', and it says a lot that he has played in two Scottish Premiership matches already, having only turned 16 last November.

In other news, read Kieran Devlin's set-piece coach claim