New Dundee boss Tony Docherty is “extremely excited” to add Liverpool’s Owen Beck to his squad on loan.
No wonder when Anfield boss Jurgen Klopp described the Wales youth international as a “super talent” and Trent Alexander-Arnold also spoke glowingly of the youngster’s prospects.
Plugging the gap at left-back was a priority for Docherty as the return of competitive football approaches.
But who is Owen Beck and what can Dundee fans expect from the young Welshman?
Who is Owen Beck related to?
Born in Flint, Wales, Beck began his youth career with Flint Town before moving to Tranmere Rovers and then Stoke City.
However, a family connection with Liverpool great Ian Rush – Beck’s grandmother Carole being Rush’s sister – inevitably brought the youngster to the Anfield youth setup.
In the early days he was used as an attacking midfielder but was switched to left-back at Liverpool.
He has since been compared to Scotland captain Andy Robertson due to his attacking qualities and is very much in the mould of the modern forward-thinking full-back.
Beck can also be used further up the pitch, predominantly on the left flank.
Club career
Beck is short of first-team experience – that’s why Liverpool are keen to get him out and playing games.
In total, the youngster has only made 11 first-team appearances so far – two for Klopp’s side and nine at Bolton Wanderers last season.
Beck’s Liverpool debut came as a late sub in a 2021 Carabao Cup win at Preston North End, replacing Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in the closing minutes.
That was followed up by 10 minutes in the following round, coming on for Kostas Tsimikas, and helping ’Pool net a late equaliser before winning on penalties.
Klopp’s men would go on to lift the cup that season.
Beck’s first-team opportunities, however, had to wait until he joined Bolton last season. That was after an aborted move to Portuguese top-flight side Famalicao.
The youngster struggled to nail down a regular starting spot with five of his nine appearances coming from the bench before Liverpool ended the loan in January.
On returning to Anfield, Beck helped Liverpool to second place in Premier League Two, England’s top-flight development league.
International career
Beck has 10 caps for Wales at U/21 level and also represented his country at U/17 level.
He scored his first international goal in a 7-0 rout of Gibraltar during qualifying for the Euro 2023 tournament.
Wales would ultimately finish fourth behind qualified Netherlands and Switzerland but also surprisingly behind Moldova after failing to score against the minnows.
Beck started a 3-0 win over Scotland in Spain in March with new team-mate Josh Mulligan in opposition that day.
His last cap came in a 2-2 draw away to Denmark in June as qualifying for the next Euros got under way.
What they said about Owen Beck…
The main opinion that matters at Anfield is that of Jurgen Klopp and he’s clearly a fan of the young Welshman.
The 20-year-old signed a five-year contract with ’Pool in 2021, a clear indication of the potential they see.
After featuring in a pre-season friendly in 2021, replacing first-choice Robertson, Klopp was full of praise.
He told LFCTV: “Owen is a super talent, I’m really excited about him.”
That was backed up by England star Trent Alexander-Arnold: “He’s impressed a lot of us with the way he is. He’s still growing, he’s still maturing as a lad, he’s got a lot to learn but the signs are there that he’s going to be a top player.
“He’s obviously got Robbo and Kostas (Tsimikas) ahead of him – hopefully being in and around them he’ll be able to pick up things and learn from them. He got the opportunity and took it.”
More recently, Beck’s U/21 boss at Liverpool Barry Lewtas spoke of the player’s return from loan:
“Loan experiences are exactly that – they are experiences,” Lewtas said.
“Sometimes things don’t kind of pan out the way you want them to go but he has learned an awful lot both as a person and as a player.
“He has come back with us and he has carried on where he left off for us – being a real threat at left-back and doing ever so well.”
On returning to Liverpool, Beck played 90 minutes in each of the final 10 Premier League Two matches last season, laying on three goals.
Now he’s got the Scottish Premiership to prepare for at Dundee – the big question is: can he begin to realise his potential at Dens Park?
Conversation