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Ben Doak is on the brink of finalizing a switch to Bournemouth, following an agreement reached by Liverpool over the weekend. The Scottish winger had been in high demand, with Porto, West Ham United and Wolves showing interest, but negotiations with the Cherries picked up pace on Friday.
Doak is now tying up the loose ends of the move and is about to seal a permanent transfer to the Vitality Stadium, reports the Liverpool ECHO. This deal, worth $34 million (£25m), comes three years after the Reds signed him from his childhood club Celtic for approximately $810,000 (£600,000).
Doak made a total of 10 senior appearances at Anfield and spent the previous season on loan at Middlesbrough. There, he caught the eye with three goals and seven assists before an injury cut his season short.
Before his fitness setback, both Crystal Palace and Ipswich Town were keen on the 19-year-old in January. However, Liverpool's valuation was significantly higher than the suggested fees of around $20M (£15m) at the time.
Liverpool officials estimated the young player's worth closer to the $41M (£30m) mark. They have now struck a deal with Bournemouth for a permanent move of $34M (£25m), after Doak was omitted from the match-day squad for Friday's game between the teams at Anfield.
Bournemouth had been on the hunt for a replacement for Dango Ouattara, who Brentford snapped up to fill the boots of Newcastle United-bound Yoane Wissa. Liverpool's Doak emerged as the top choice for sporting director Simon Francis and head coach Andoni Iraola.
This deal takes Liverpool's summer sales total over the $290M (£215m) mark, following the exits of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Jarell Quansah, Caoimhin Kelleher, Tyler Morton, Luis Diaz, Nat Phillips and Darwin Nunez, who made a move to Al Hilal in Saudi Arabia earlier this month.
Liverpool's net spend for the summer transfer window now stands at $142M (£105m), including add-ons. The Reds welcomed their eighth signing of a bustling few months of player trading on Friday when teenage defender Giovanni Leoni finalized his move from Parma.
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With Doak's departure, Arne Slot is left with five forwards to fit into his three-man system, with young winger Rio Ngumoha providing cover for Cody Gakpo, Hugo Ekitike, Mohamed Salah and Federico Chiesa, all of whom found the back of the net in Friday night's 4-2 victory over Bournemouth.
Liverpool are still prepared to re-enter negotiations for Alexander Isak, should they receive any positive signals from Newcastle, who managed a goalless draw against 10-man Aston Villa on Saturday without the Swedish international.
The Premier League champions had a $150M (£110m) bid for Isak turned down by the Magpies at the start of the month.
Following the goalless draw at Villa Park, Newcastle manager Eddie Howe stated: "Nothing has changed - but the door is well and truly open (for Isak). But he has to decide what he wants to do. We would like a resolution, when I say we I am talking about myself and the ownership, the players we have, we need that clarity.
"This season, any Premier League season is hard enough, you don't need any type of distraction to swerve your thoughts and unbalance what we are doing. I am certainly not in control of that, there is only one person who is in control of that."
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