Jackie McNamara has claimed that Celtic could have kept Ben Doak if they had done more to convince him to stay, suggesting that a lack of first-team opportunities ultimately led to his departure for Liverpool.

McNamara’s management agency represented Doak during his time at Celtic, and the former Hoops defender has now revealed that the club attempted to secure an extension but couldn’t offer the right pathway to keep the youngster in Glasgow.

Speaking to Open Goal, McNamara said:

“I went to watch him at 15.

“I went away to watch him at Scotland 17s but everybody was trying to get him, then I’d signed with him, he signed with us and Celtic were trying to get him to extend and stay.

“Ange had put him in a couple of times and if he’d have kept him in the first-team. The problem is if you’re not in the first-team they need something in between that to get the boys to go out.

“No disrespect to the Lowland League but when you’re at a certain level it’s stimulation, you need to go and play and be tested so there’s somewhere else boys can go if they’re not in the first-team.

“I think if they kept him in at that point he might’ve wanted to stay.”

Ange Postecoglou did hand Doak his Celtic debut and even trusted him to come off the bench in a Glasgow Derby, showing that the teenager was highly rated. However, with Liel Abada, Jota, Daizen Maeda, and James Forrest all competing for starting spots, it was always going to be difficult to guarantee him consistent minutes.

Liverpool came calling with an offer that was hard to turn down, and Doak left for just a £600k development fee. Given his clear talent, there’s an argument that Celtic could have explored a loan move to bridge the gap between the Lowland League and first-team football.

In hindsight, losing a player of Doak’s ability for such a small fee was a blow. But with no clear pathway to senior minutes at Celtic, it’s understandable why he felt his future lay elsewhere.