Liverpool Surpass Huge Sales Milestone With Exit for Talented Winger

Only one other club on the planet can match Liverpool’s landmark transfer haul.

Ben Doak featured for Liverpool during pre-season. | Carl Recine/Getty Images

Ben Doak’s move to Bournemouth has taken Liverpool’s total summer income beyond £200 million ($270.3 million) when all add-ons from sales are included.

The Reds have been in the headlines for their extravagant spending this summer, splashing a club record glut which could stretch all the way to £300 million. However, it hasn’t been a window without any balancing of the books. Doak is the eighth player Liverpool have earned a transfer fee for.

Bournemouth confirmed the arrival of the 19-year-old winger on Monday evening. The Cherries will pay an initial £20 million with a further £5 million available in add-ons for a player who impressed last season during a loan spell at Middlesbrough. While some on Merseyside will undoubtedly be disappointed to lose a player of Doak’s potential, few can scoff at the profit turned by this deal.

The Scotland international joined Liverpool from Celtic’s academy in 2023 for a modest £600,000. After two years and just 10 first-team appearances for the Reds, Doak’s valuation has rocketed.

Trent Alexander-Arnold left Liverpool after two decades to join Real Madrid. | IMAGO/NurPhoto

Trent Alexander-Arnold was the first to leave Anfield this summer and Liverpool even managed to extract a £8.4 million transfer fee out of Real Madrid by agreeing to let their academy star leave in time for the Club World Cup. Caoimhín Kelleher, Nat Phillips and Tyler Morton commanded more than £20 million between them despite enjoying limited exposure in Liverpool’s starting XI.

Luis Díaz belatedly secured his move to Bayern Munich once the German champions matched Liverpool’s £65 million asking price and Darwin Núñez was offloaded to Al Hilal for a healthy sum which could rise to as much as £56.6 million—even if that still represents a significant loss compared to his enormous arrival fee.

Chelsea are the only club on the planet to have been able to match Liverpool in terms of such lofty sales sums, surpassing the £200 million mark when they shipped out Armando Broja to Burnley earlier this month.

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