According to The Athletic, Liverpool are set to finally cash in on Ben Woodburn this summer, five years after he burst onto the scene as a teenager.
So much was expected of Woodburn after he made his Liverpool debut at the age of 17, becoming the Reds’ youngest ever goalscorer after scoring against Leeds United in November 2016.
Woodburn’s stock only continued to grow, and his hype reached its peak when he scored an absolute screamer on his international debut for Wales.
However, since then it’s all been downhill for Woodburn. He’s been sent out on loan three times, scoring just one goal in 28 league appearances for the likes of Sheffield United, Oxford United and Blackpool.
Sadly, it seems as though Woodburn will never deliver on his potential, and sadly for Liverpool, they may have left it too late to cash in on him.
Klopp may have described him as an ‘outstanding talent’ in 2019, but he’s not shown much to back up that praise in recent times.
Indeed, the 21-year-old is no longer seen as a wonderkid with heaps of potential after faltering at League One level for the past two seasons, and his stock has fallen massively.
To be honest, the Reds should probably have seen this coming back in 2018 when he was struggling to get into the Sheffield United team, and at that point, his stocks was probably still high enough for the Reds to recoup a few million for his services.
However, now as a 21-year-old who hasn’t been able to make an impact at League One level, it’s hard to see the Reds receiving a substantial fee for his services this summer.
Liverpool have been fantastic at shifting young players at the perfect time in recent years, receiving eight-figure fees for the likes of Jordon Ibe, Dominic Solanke and Rhian Brewster, players who have gone on to struggle after leaving Anfield.
However, it seems as though they’ve held onto Woodburn for too long, and that’s seemingly cost them millions.
Perhaps Liverpool should have given Woodburn the same treatment as Ibe, Solanke and Brewster and sold him while his stock was high.
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