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Does Ben Woodburn need loan move to justify future Liverpool role?
After an explosive breakthrough into the Liverpool first team, memorably scoring a winner in front of the Kop on his debut, Ben Woodburn’s progress has stalled somewhat at club level.
Having made his debut in 2016/17, he went on to make nine first team appearances that season amassing to 360 minutes. Yet last season, he was kept at the club to aid his progress but played only 50 minutes across two appearances, only six of those coming in the Premier League as a substitute on the final day of the season.
Woodburn spoke to the ahead of his trip to the US with the first team on tour and revealed that he is not yet certain where he will be playing this season but is keen to prove a point.
“Every game is a chance to impress the manager, especially against top teams like Dortmund, United and City. He’s still thinking about what’s best for me. I’ll agree with whatever he thinks. I’ll trust his decision and do what he wants me to do. Hopefully I can get a few more appearances with the first team and just see where it goes from there.”
With Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane having nailed down the front three starting spots, it is a tough task to convince the German that he has a role to play, particularly with the likes of Daniel Sturridge, Divock Origi and Danny Ings playing for their futures too and Xherdan Shaqiri having recently signed.
Sheffield United have been linked with the forward, according to the , and a season of regular football in the Championship could give him the experience he needs after being a spectator for much of Liverpool’s impressive Champions League run.
Still only 18-years-old, Woodburn has time on his side and is clearly highly rated by Klopp and his staff, having been involved heavily in pre-season, but he may feel that the time is right to seek regular football and return to Anfield with that experience under his belt.
It is hard to see how he could achieve that on Merseyside and so a loan move seems inevitable, particularly given the intense competition in attack.