Andros Townsend Praises Ben Doak’s Unique Dribbling Prowess

Former England international Andros Townsend has stated that he has “never seen a winger who can dribble with both feet” quite like Ben Doak. The 19-year-old, currently on loan at Championship club Middlesbrough from Liverpool, notably excelled for Scotland during their recent Nations League victories against Croatia and Poland. Townsend commented on Doak’s display in the 1-0 win over Croatia on BBC’s Monday Night Club, describing him as “brilliant, so fearless.” He added, “We’re talking about [Josko] Gvardiol, the most expensive defender in the world and he was just running at him. He was taking him on, he was doing tricks.” As a former winger himself, Townsend expressed particular admiration for Doak’s ambidextrous dribbling. He explained, “But the thing that impressed me most as a winger myself is he can dribble with both feet, so you don’t know what he’s going to do. Most wingers now, they have a competitive weaker foot but I’ve never seen a winger be able to dribble with both feet. He can dribble with his right foot or make that nice angle with his left foot and come inside and get shots off. Very impressed with him as a whole.” This season, Doak has contributed one goal and three assists across 10 Championship appearances for Boro, who currently sit seventh in the table and are pursuing promotion. The teenager also provided the assist for John McGinn’s opening goal in Scotland’s dramatic 2-1 triumph over Poland in Warsaw on Monday night. Chris Sutton, a former striker for Norwich, Blackburn, and Celtic, echoed the sentiment, calling the word “fearless” a “great description” of Doak. Sutton affirmed, “That’s what he is,” and further remarked, “I think he’s made the right move in terms of going out on loan at Middlesbrough. He’s getting game time.”