Liverpools Owen Beck has learned lessons on loan the reward is a Wales call-up

May 2024 · 8 minute read

An unread email sat in Owen Beck’s inbox, but it took his Wales Under-21 manager Matty Jones to pick up his phone for the Liverpool youngster to discover its contents.

Jones dialled the number of his left-back and asked the 21-year-old if he had heard the good news.

Beck, who is on loan at Dundee in the Scottish Premiership, had earned a first call-up to the Wales senior squad.

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“I froze for a second and then it hit me — this is a dream,” says Beck. “I called my family and hearing how happy they were for me, was amazing.”

It is an achievement that felt a long way off in January when he returned to Liverpool after a loan to Bolton Wanderers of League One, English football’s third tier, ended early. It was Beck’s second recall of the season, as a similar move to Portuguese side Famalicao suffered the same fate before the summer transfer window had even closed.

Now he is a regular for Dundee after joining them on a season-long loan, and his performances are making people take notice.

Wales’ first match of the upcoming international break is a friendly against Gibraltar at Wrexham’s Racecourse Ground, a stadium located around 30 minutes from his parents, Shaun and Sara, in the town of Flint.

“The amount of tickets people have been asking me for, we could sell out half the ground,” Beck says.

“I can give myself a bit of a pat on the back because I’ve overcome a lot with things not going to plan but I know it doesn’t stop, I’ve not made it.”

Answering questions has been a theme throughout Beck’s career.

After he arrived at Liverpool as an under-13s player, he was never the standout in his age group and his size was held against him.

“I’ve never doubted that I could make it or my ability but I was a late developer at 15, 16,” says Beck. “When you’re not playing, it affects your confidence but I knew I was good enough.”

Beck, who signed a long-term contract at Liverpool in 2021, burst onto the first-team scene during the 2021-22 pre-season, his attacking instincts standing out in friendlies against Spanish sides Athletic Bilbao and Osasuna. It led to two substitute appearances in the Carabao Cup against Preston North End and Leicester City, with Jurgen Klopp labelling him a “super talent”.

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His move to northern Portugal did not go to plan, though. It lasted less than two months and Beck did not get to make an appearance for Famalicao, with a difference of strategies inside the club hardly helping his cause.

“It was always going to be big, going to a different country, a new language,” says Beck. “It was tough being out there with my girlfriend, away from family. I wasn’t playing, so it wasn’t ideal, but I showed I was strong enough to make the decision to go out there.”

Beck celebrates with Takumi Minamino during the Carabao Cup quarter-final against Leicester in 2021 (Naomi Baker/Getty Images)

He was recalled, then followed Liverpool team-mate and close friend Conor Bradley to Bolton. While right-back Bradley had established himself in the first team, stiff competition awaited Beck at left-back in Jack Iredale and Declan John. He was playing catch-up with his fitness too, and as a result he was unable to establish himself as a first-team regular.

That meant all parties came to a mutual agreement for a return to Liverpool.

Beck spoke to under-21s manager Barry Lewtas to map out the rest of his season. He needed to build his fitness up, regain his confidence and play regularly for the under-21s.

He impressed, performing consistently and as he built up a run of games, on top of the additional drills and gym work he was doing, the improvements were noticeable.

“Barry had a massive impact. He said I need to get back to how I was; get my confidence back and I’d be flying,” says Beck. “You can’t change what happened in the past. I went back and played a lot of games and found my feet again. I could move on, work in a familiar environment and now I’m in a good place at Dundee.”

Another bonus was the opportunity to take part in training sessions with the first team. Learning from some of the best, including left-back Andy Robertson, was vital and his mentality and mindset benefitted.

“It all came together and put me in the best shape I could have been for the new season,” says Beck. “I needed a chance to prove and show what I could do in men’s football.”

Owen Beck has thrived on his loan spell away from Liverpool (Naomi Baker/Getty Images)

Choosing the correct loan move this time was crucial. Conversations between his agent, family and Liverpool’s head of academy recruitment Matt Newberry were productive and they evaluated every option in detail.

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Dundee showed interest and key to him choosing the Scottish side were his conversations with their manager Tony Docherty. It was clear from the outset that the 52-year-old believed in him.

“Tony settled it — it was clear he had watched me and knew a lot about me. I have to thank him for trusting me and my aim has been to repay him with performances,” says Beck. “You have to bounce back from setbacks. I was pretty calm and didn’t want to put pressure on myself.”

One of the advantages of a loan move to Scottish football rather than returning to the EFL is the coaching time available. Scotland is increasingly becoming a favoured place for Liverpool to send loanees with Leighton Clarkson, Rhys Williams (both Aberdeen) and Luke Chambers (Kilmarnock) also securing moves there in recent seasons.

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One game a week with Dundee, compared to the intense 46-match lower-league fixture schedule has given Beck more time on the training pitch. After every match, Docherty or assistant manager Stuart Taylor sits down with Beck and goes through his clips from it. In detail, they look at what went well and areas of improvement in all aspects of his game.

“The extra training time is ideal,” says Beck. “It is all about learning. You get the chance to reset, take in information and work on it through the week, do extra training and gym work. I feel myself getting bigger, stronger and fitter, and that has had an effect on my performances.”

On the pitch, it is paying off. Of the 12 goals Dundee have scored this season, Beck has played a role in half of them. Bu it is defensively where the bigger improvement has been noticed.

His parents joke that he has a “nasty streak in him”, and he is channelling that aggression positively. According to FBref.com, Beck has won the most tackles (19) of any Scottish Premiership player. Seven of those came against champions Celtic last month. Despite Dundee’s 3-0 defeat that day, Beck came away with plenty of credit and his defensive improvements have been noted back at his parent club.

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“It was a great game to be involved in, playing in front of that (near 60,000-strong) crowd,” says Beck. “It’s an important experience to face the best team in the league. We went toe to toe with them really, until about the 60th minute. They’re a Champions League team and you can’t switch off. I learned a lot.”

Newberry, who took on the responsibilities of former director of loan management David Woodfine after his summer departure, is in regular touch with Beck.

“He texts me good luck before games, asks how I got on and we speak regularly,” says Beck. “I spoke to Barry recently and he’s planning to come and watch a game. That’s important for loan players.”

While things did not work out for Beck at Bolton, he drew inspiration from Bradley, who was their 2022-23 player of the season as they made the League One play-offs. The 20-year-old Northern Ireland international made the right impression on Liverpool’s coaching team and they gave him the opportunity this pre-season to stake his claim with Klopp’s first team. He appeared in the first two warm-up games before an injury setback.

“He was flying, consistent, getting goals and assists and I was proud of him — it has spurred me on to try and do the same,” says Beck. “I came to Dundee with that mindset to make that impact. If you perform and deserve a chance it will be there at Liverpool. It gives you more desire to be the next one.

“I feel like I’ve come a long way from where I was at the start of the year. I want to be a better player and a better person. I have to keep performing consistently for Dundee, contributing goals and assists and improving parts of my game. This club has been a massive reason why I’m in the Wales squad. (Wales also host 2018 World Cup finalists Croatia in a European Championship qualifier in Cardiff three days after the Gibraltar game.)

“When I go away, I need to impress and hopefully I can make myself a regular in the squad. Winning my first cap would be amazing.”

(Top photo: Paul Devlin/SNS Group via Getty Images)

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