Dundee manager Tony Docherty readily admits that is still keeping tabs on former Tayside loanee Owen Beck as he can't wait to see where his next career port of call takes him.

The Liverpool left-back looks certain to be on the move before the August 30 transfer deadline with Celtic, Leeds and QPR all being credited with an interest in the defender's services. The two English clubs are looking to secure a loan deal for the 21-year-old who has one year left of his current deal at Anfield. However, Brendan Rodgers' men are keen on a permanent deal and have been quoted a fee in the region of £3 million.

Docherty was Beck's boss at Dens Park last season as the player enjoyed a highly successful loan spell after initially signing in the summer of 2023. Beck made 28 appearances in total for Dundee scoring two goals and was a huge Dark Blues fans' favourite before being recalled by Liverpool head coach Jurgen Klopp in January due to a crisis in the left-back position.

The player then made his English Premier League debut with Liverpool in January as a substitute in a 4-0 victory away to Bournemouth. Those seven minutes ruled Beck out of a potential move to a third club having played for the maximum number of two clubs in one season. Beck then rejoined Dundee on loan until the end of the season but he needed treatment for a persistent groin injury which ended his season prematurely in March and kept him out of action for the remainder of the campaign.

In April 2024, Beck was named in the PFA Scotland Team of the Year. Docherty reckons that had Beck not contracted a groin problem he would have been a stick-on or the PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year award. The 53-year-old revealed that the Dundee fans took to Beck straight away from the moment he took to the field against Irish First Division side Bray Wanderers on a pre-season tour of Ireland.

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(Image: Craig Williamson - SNS Group)

Docherty said: "It is none of my business nor do I want to get involved in talking about which club Owen Beck will sign for next.

"I can only speak about the player who came to Dundee for a loan spell last season and the wonderful attitude and application that he showed during his time with us. He was such a strong performer in every game he played for Dundee. From my experience working with Owen, he gave 100 per cent to everything that he did. He was absolutely committed to everything.

"All the good players I have worked with that is what they have all got in common whether it was a gym session, a game of head tennis, a one-versus-one, he gave total commitment to every day in training. I am told he has been like that everywhere he has been in his career. It is boys like Owen who you want to see reap the rewards from their careers. He was huge for Dundee last season and he was such a good example of what can happen if you apply yourself and you can be successful with it.

"We took him to Ireland on pre-season with us last summer and we played Bray Wanderers. It would have been easy for him to be disinterested coming from Anfield and playing against an Irish First Division side but his performance that night had the Dundee fans in raptures. The Dundee supporters fell in love with him that night because he could easily have thought the level was beneath him but he absolutely applied himself and took that into the season with him.

"In the first away game of the league season against St Mirren, he did not have a great game and he was really down on himself. Owen, Stuart Taylor (Dundee assistant manager) and I all got together and we spoke to him. We did the analysis which Stuart is very good at. That proved to be the turning point for Owen as he felt really low but we gave him pointers on how to handle various situations and he never looked back after that.

"I think at one point he felt as if he might be getting axed from the team but that was never going to happen. We just told him to keep fit and to keep playing and that he would develop his game and that's exactly what he did. He was recalled by Liverpool in January and played for them for seven minutes in the EPL against Bournemouth. He then came back to Dundee but he had picked up a groin injury by then which was a real shame.

"Owen made it into the SPFL Team of the Year but he would have been the Young Player of the Year by a handsome margin had he been able to continue from where he left off."

Ironically Beck came to prominence in two matches against Rodgers Celtic and despite being on the losing side 3-0 on both occasions he managed to outshine speed merchant Daizen Maeda which is no mean feat. However, Docherty joked that every opposition manager would sing the praises of Beck after every match because he was such a standout.

Whatever happens between now and August 30, Docherty is desperate to see Beck become a rip-roaring success in his career because nobody deserves it more. Whoever Beck signs for that club will be getting a player dedicated to honing his craft.

(Image: Craig Foy - SNS Group)

Docherty said: "Owen's breakthrough games for Dundee were probably against Celtic. He was outstanding against Daizen Maeda when he played against him. We always knew he was great going forward but we wanted to see how he would cope against a powerful winger and how he would deal with that. He did well against Meada on both occasions he faced him up.

"Owen's best form of defence is attacking when you actually watch him play. He is so tenacious and he is great going forward. He puts opposition wide players on the back foot when it is usually meant to be the other way around.

"Every opposition manager who came to see me after matches would all say the same thing: 'The boy Beck is a good player'."

"He made such a good impression on everybody at the club including the staff and the supporters. He is still really close with a lot of his teammates at Dens Park as they are all around the same age and they are all good, young talented football players with a lot in common. He is such a brilliant boy and I can't speak highly enough of him during the time I managed him at Dundee.

"Wherever he goes and whatever he does in his career, I hope he gets the success that he deserves. It will just be interesting to see where he ends up."