Ben Woodburn – An opportunity missed?

Ben Woodburn hit the headlines in November 2016, when he became Liverpool’s youngest ever goalscorer after netting in an EFL Cup tie against Leeds United, the sky seemed to be the limit for the youngster but fast forward three and a half years and things have not gone to plan for the Nottingham born youngster.

Woodburn joined Liverpool’s academy set-up at under-7 level and steadily progressed through the ranks and was quickly identified as someone who had a bright future in the game and at Liverpool by academy director Frank McParland. At 15 years old, Woodburn left school after he was fast-tracked from the under-16’s to the under-18’s after making significant progress in the academy. Woodburn’s rapid development saw him included in ”Liverpool’s Futures Group”, a programme which gave the club’s most talented youngsters a weekly opportunity to train with then first-team coach Pep Lijnders. Woodburn continued his progress during the sessions with the firs-team and caught the eye of Jurgen Klopp. He made his non-competitive during the 2016-17 pre-season in a friendly against Tranmere Rovers, having also being included in the squad for a friendly against Fleetwood Town, he made an impact coming off the bench to score and assist a goal. It was obvious to the hierachy at Liverpool that they had a special player on their hands.

On 8, November 2016, Woodburn signed his first professional contract along with Kevin Stewart and fellow academy graduate Trent Alexander-Arnold. Eighteen days after signing the contract, Woodburn made his senior Liverpool debut after coming on as a 92nd minute substitute in a 2-0 Premier League over Sunderland. In doing so he became the club’s third-youngest debutant of all time and the club’s second-youngest in the Premier League behind Jack Robinson. On November 29, 2016, Woodburn made club history after scoring that goal against Leeds United, becoming the youngest person ever to score for the club defeating Michael Owen’s record by 98 days. Comparisons between Owen and Woodburn were already being made, probably increasing the pressure on Woodburn’s shoulders given Owen’s record at the club.

Following the impact he had made, Woodburn was named by both Sky Sports and The Guardian as one of the top young players to watch in 2017. 2017 started in the same vein of form for Woodburn as he became the then-youngest player to represent the club in the FA Cup after starting a 0-0 draw with Plymouth Argyle. His first start in the league came on April 4th in a 2-1 away win over Stoke City, becoming the third-youngest player to start for Liverpool in the Premier League era behind Michael Owen and Jordon Ibe. The following week saw him nominated for the 2017 European Golden Boy award, an award given by sports journalists for the best player under 21 in a calendar year providing the player plays in an European nation’s top tier. Unfortunately for Woodburn, Kylian Mbappe walked away with the award, but Woodburn did walk away with the Liverpool Academy Player of the Season award after scoring eight goals in Premier League 2 and breaking into the first team. His stellar season for the development side also saw him nominated for the Premier League 2 Player of the Season award alongside team mate Trent Alexander-Arnold though the award was ultimately won by Swansea City’s Oli McBurnie.

On 16 March, 2017 Woodburn received his first call-up to the Welsh National side, he was eligible for Wales through his maternal Grandfather and had been involved with the English Schoolboys set-up but elected to represent Wales. After receiving the call-up from Chris Coleman, Woodburn was named in the squad for the World Cup qualifier against Republic of Ireland in Dublin, however was an unused substitute for the game
The 2017-18 season saw Woodburn’s involvement with the first-team significantly reduced, though he was named captain of the under-19’s side by academy coach Steven Gerrard for the UEFA Youth League, a competition which ran parallel to the season’s UEFA Champions League. Though not making the impact he would’ve liked on a club level, On September 2 2017, Woodburn made a huge impact on the international stage after making his senior debut for Wales in a World Cup qualifier against Austria in Cardiff. After coming on as a second half substitute for Tom Lawrence, in what was a crucial game for his country, Woodburn’s moment of pure quality in the 80th minute saw the Cardiff City Stadium erupt. The ball bounced out to Woodburn 25 yards from the goal, the youngster trapped it with his first touch before unleashing a drive which found the bottom corner of the net sending the 30,000 strong crowd into euphoria. In doing so, he became Wales’ second-youngest ever goalscorer behind Gareth Bale. Throughout the rest of Wales’ qualification campaign, Woodburn featured regularly from the bench but Wales fell short of qualification.

The second half of the season saw much of the same for Woodburn as first-team minutes were minimal to say the least, however his future was obviously in the club’s heads as he was rewarded with a new long-term deal, less than a year after signing his first ever professional contract. He continued to represent the club’s youth and reserve sides, helping the under-19’s to the quarter finals of the UEFA Youth League after beating Manchester United, however in the quarters they lost to Manchester City. He made his only senior apperance for the season on the last day as he came on as a substitute for Mohamed Salah in a convincing 4-0 league win over Brighton. Discussions were rife with what the future would follow for Woodburn for the 2018-19 as it became obvious he would struggle for first-team minutes as an attacking player having to compete with Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane. Many thought he would have to follow the path of fellow Wales’ team mate Harry Wilson who had a successful loan spell at Hull City in the Championship and was touted for another stint the following season.

As Wilson went to Derby County, many Championship clubs fought for Woodburn’s signature who was made available for a season long-loan. After Derby County signed Mason Mount, Woodburn would not be following Wilson to the Midlands, however, a week before the Championship season started Woodburn joined Sheffield United. Many thought this would be a good move for the youngster as he was playing under one of the best managers in the Football League in Chris Wilder. Sheffield United were also in a cluster of clubs who would hope to win promotion to the Premier League. Woodburn made his debut for the blades in a 2-1 league defeat to Swansea City and his first start three days later in a League Cup tie against Hull City. During the 2018-19 season, Woodburn struggled for minutes under Wilder at Bramall Lane, his time in Yorkshire was also affected by an ankle injury suffered in December. By the midway point of the season, Woodburn had only made eight apperances for the Blades and was recalled from his loan by Liverpool. Woodburn would’ve been disappointed not to make his mark in United’s promotion season to the Premier League. After returning to Liverpool, he didn’t play much football making sporadic apperances for the club’s under-23 side, however he was included in the club’s Champions League squad which mean he did receive a winners medal after Liverpool’s 2-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur in the final.

After his disappointing spell at Sheffield United, Woodburn was made available for loan again for the 2019-20 season. It was Oxford United who took a gamble on him and Woodburn agreed a season-long loan with the League 1 club, making his debut for the club on the opening day of the season in a 1-1 draw against Sunderland. He scored his first goal in a 3-1 defeat to Bristol Rovers, before once again in October 2019, his spell on loan at a club was disrupted by injury after suffering a broken bone in his foot. He returned to Merseyside to rehabilitate but cruelly on the final training session before returning to Oxford in December, he suffered a carbon copy of the injury in his other foot. Oxford manager Karl Robinson revealed that the injuries stemmed from the peculiar way Woodburn bore weight on his feet.

Ben Woodburn is still only 20 years of age, has played less than 50 senior games and has plenty of time to develop into a player who’s name will be sung by the Kop for a number of years, but given his history of injury there might be a chance that we will never see the true potential of what we saw from him at 17 years old. We’ve already seen glimpses of the quality he posses on club and country level, it takes a special player to do what Woodburn did for Wales against Austria in front of a packed stadium. Jurgen Klopp does not players on the pitch unless he believes they have what it takes to be a first-team player. After making such an impact at such a young age, much was expected of Woodburn, he could take a career path such as Ravel Morrison who was a highly rated youngster at Manchester United but didn’t fulfill his potential and ended up playing his football in Sweden, or he could be Wales’ next Gareth Bale. Here’s hoping in the next few years, he can get over his injury troubles and be a hit with both the Kop and the Red Wall.