Crystal Palace frontrunners for player who Spurs and Man Utd legend sees 'thriving' in Championship

Crystal Palace are believed to be frontrunners to complete a move for talented Liverpool winger Ben Doak, who is impressing on loan at Middlesbrough this term.

The 19-year-old has two goals and five assists in the second tier and has played a prominent part for Boro as the side find themselves in sixth place and chasing promotion. The Celtic youth academy graduate signed for Liverpool in March 2022 but has made just 10 senior appearances for the Reds.

The Merseyside outfit are linked with a big money move for a winger, the likes of Brentford man Bryan Mbeumo and AFC Bournemouth star Antoine Semenyo touted, with questions still over Mohamed Salah's future at Anfield. Any move for Doak at this early stage in his career would therefore likely be in a loan capacity.

Liverpool could use teenager to push through Marc Guehi transfer

Transfer specialist Alan Nixon reports of Crystal Palace leading the race for the player with Liverpool holding the option of cutting his stay at Middlesbrough short this season. They could be tempted to do that in favour of sending the teenager to a Premier League club to gain further experience.

The Mirror also carried reports of Eagles interest in Doak and claims that Liverpool may look to use that in their favour to stronghold a move for defender Marc Guehi. The Reds are one of the top flight sides said to be preparing a January swoop for the England international and 'may look to include the Scot in any deal' to tempt Crystal Palace to let the player leave.

Guehi was the subject of bids from Newcastle United over the summer but those offered were batted away by a stubborn Palace. The latest reports suggest that the player has set his sights on a move to Anfield in the pursuit of Champions League football.

It seems a matter of when not if Crystal Palace will cash in on Guehi and the chance to lure Doak in the opposite direction after his Championship showings would certainly be of benefit to Oliver Glasner's side. The South London club have history in helping EFL stars make the transition to the Premier League with Eberechi Eze, Michael Olise and Adam Wharton all taking that route.

Ben Doak ‘thriving’ on loan at Middlesbrough

Doak has been regularly praised by Middlesbrough boss Michael Carrick this season. The ex Tottenham Hotspur and Man Utd player told BBC Radio Tees: “It’s everything you want. In terms of the level (he’s reached), it’s very difficult to envision something happening so quickly.

"There’s no getting away from it, Ben’s having a really good time of it at the moment. He’s playing some good football and looking dangerous.

"The opportunity for him to come here and play and be part of the squad - he’s obviously confident. We know his strengths, it’s pretty obvious what he’s good at and he’s taken that on to Scotland as well.

"We're really pleased with him, but for us it doesn’t change anything. It’s a long season so we’re certainly not getting carried away but it’s great to see him thriving at the moment. Then obviously going to Scotland and having an impact for them, it’s fantastic for Ben and great for us that he's with us and playing so well.

"We have still got to be careful, he’s still young, we have got to manage him and preparing him for going though the whole season."