Ben_Woodburn

Ben Woodburn

Ben Woodburn

Wales international footballer

Benjamin Luke Woodburn (born 15 October 1999) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for EFL Championship club Preston North End and the Wales national team.

Quick Facts Personal information, Full name ...

Woodburn joined the football academy of Liverpool when he was seven years old. Nearly a decade later, upon making his senior debut in 2016, he became the third-youngest player ever to play for the club and, in just his second appearance, broke Michael Owen's long-standing record to become Liverpool's youngest goalscorer. He subsequently went on loan to Sheffield United, Oxford United, Blackpool and Hearts.

Woodburn represents Wales at international level and became the nation's second youngest goalscorer behind Gareth Bale when he scored on his senior debut in 2017.

Club career

Liverpool

Early career

Born in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, Woodburn was raised in Tattenhall, Cheshire, and played both cricket and football from a young age.[3][4][5] He joined Liverpool's academy at under-7 level where he steadily progressed through the youth ranks, leading to former academy director Frank McParland identifying him as one of the brightest prospects at the club.[6][4] During his schooling, Liverpool agreed to a request from Woodburn's parents that he should stay at home rather than in Rainhill, which was closer to the academy in Kirkby. In order to facilitate his development, the club arranged for a driver to transport him every day from training back to his home in Tattenhall.[7] When he was 15 years old, Woodburn left his high school, Bishop Heber High School and was fast-tracked from Liverpool's under-16s to the under-18s where his rapid development saw him included in Liverpool's "Futures Group", a programme which afforded the club's most talented young players a weekly opportunity to train with then first-team coach, Pep Lijnders.[8][9]

2016–17 season

Woodburn playing for Liverpool in 2016

Having impressed first-team manager Jürgen Klopp during these training sessions, Woodburn was handed his non-competitive debut during the 2016–17 pre-season in a 1–0 win over Tranmere Rovers.[10] He came off the bench in Liverpool's next match to score one and assist another for Roberto Firmino in a 5–0 friendly win over Fleetwood Town.[11] Woodburn then, along with Kevin Stewart and fellow academy graduate Trent Alexander-Arnold, signed his first professional contract with Liverpool on 8 November 2016.[12]

He made his senior debut for Liverpool on 26 November, coming on as a 92nd-minute substitute for Georginio Wijnaldum in a 2–0 Premier League victory over Sunderland.[13] Upon doing so, Woodburn became Liverpool's third-youngest debutant of all time at the age of 17 years and 42 days, and the club's second youngest in the Premier League, behind Jack Robinson.[14] Three days later, he became Liverpool's youngest goalscorer at the age of 17 years and 45 days when he came off the bench to score in an EFL Cup quarter-final win over Leeds United, bettering Michael Owen's record by 98 days.[15][16][17] Following his rapid development at Liverpool, both Sky Sports and The Guardian named Woodburn as one of the top young players to watch in 2017.[18][19]

On 8 January 2017, he became the then-youngest player to represent the club in the FA Cup when he started in a 0–0 draw with Plymouth Argyle.[20][21] His first start in the league followed on 4 April in a 2–1 away triumph over Stoke City which saw him become the third-youngest player to start for Liverpool in the Premier League era behind Owen and Jordon Ibe.[22][23][24] The following week he was nominated for the 2017 European Golden Boy award, but was beaten by French forward Kylian Mbappé.[25][26] On 9 May, Woodburn won Liverpool's Academy Player of the Season award following a campaign which saw him score eight goals in Premier League 2 and break into the first team.[27][28] He was also later nominated for the Premier League 2 Player of the Season award alongside Alexander-Arnold, though the award was ultimately won by Swansea City's Oli McBurnie.[29][30]

2017–18 season

The following season, Liverpool's academy coach Steven Gerrard named Woodburn as captain of the under-19 side for the club's UEFA Youth League campaign, a competition which ran parallel to the season's UEFA Champions League.[31] He made just one senior appearance, as a substitute,[32] during the first half of the season but signed a new long-term deal with Liverpool in October and was named BBC Wales Young Sportsman of the Year in December.[33][34][35]

Woodburn continued to represent the youth and reserve sides at the start of the second half of the season. On 21 February 2018, he scored once and assisted another as Liverpool beat Manchester United's U19 side 2–0 to qualify for the quarter finals of the UEFA Youth League.[36] There, the club was eliminated by Manchester City.[37] He made his second and only other senior appearance for the season on 13 May, coming on as a late substitute for Mohamed Salah in a 4–0 league win over Brighton.[32] On 1 July, he and club teammates Alexander-Arnold and Herbie Kane were named on the shortlist for the 2018 Golden Boy award.[38]

2018–19 season: Loan to Sheffield United

Woodburn (centre) celebrating Liverpool's 2019 UEFA Champions League triumph with his teammates

On 31 July 2018, Woodburn signed on a season-long loan with Championship side Sheffield United.[39] He made his debut for the club four days later, coming off the bench for David McGoldrick in a 2–1 loss to Swansea.[40] His first start followed on 14 August in a League Cup tie against Hull City where, with the scores level after regulation time, the match progressed to a penalty shootout.[40] Woodburn converted his spot kick but Sheffield United were ultimately defeated after his former Liverpool teammate Kevin Stewart scored the winning penalty for Hull.[41] He struggled for game time during the first half of the season, however, compounded by an ankle injury sustained in December and by the midway point of the campaign had only made eight appearances for the club.[40][42]

He was subsequently recalled from his loan by Liverpool where he spent the remainder of the season, making sporadic appearances for the club's U23 side.[43][44] Woodburn was also included in the side's squad for the knockout phases of the Champions League, which Liverpool went on to win after a 2–0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur in the final, although he was not included in the matchday squad.[45][46]

2019–20 season: Loan to Oxford United

On 30 July 2019, Woodburn signed with League One side Oxford United on a season-long loan.[47][48] He made his Oxford debut in a 1–1 draw at Sunderland on the opening day of the 2019–20 season, and assisted Tariqe Fosu for his team's goal.[49] On 24 August, he scored his first goal for the club, opening the scoring in a 3–1 defeat to Bristol Rovers.[50] His campaign was once again disrupted by injury, however, after he suffered a broken bone in his foot in October which ruled him out for a number of weeks. Woodburn returned to Merseyside to recover but, on his final training session before reuniting with Oxford in December, suffered a "carbon copy" of the injury in his other foot; an injury head coach Karl Robinson later revealed stemmed from the peculiar manner in which the player bore weight on his feet.[51][52][53]

2020–21 season: Loan to Blackpool

On 16 October 2020, Woodburn joined Blackpool on loan until 17 January. He linked up again with the former under-23s head coach at Liverpool, now manager at Blackpool, Neil Critchley.[54]

2021–22 season: Loan to Hearts

On 23 August 2021, Woodburn signed with Scottish Premiership club Heart of Midlothian on a season-long loan.[55]

In June 2022, it was announced by Liverpool that he would leave the club at the end of the month when his contract expired.[56]

Preston North End

On 4 July 2022, following the expiry of his Liverpool contract, Woodburn signed a one-year contract with Championship side Preston North End with an option for a further year.[57]

He scored on his debut in July 2022 against his former club Hearts in a 2–1 friendly win.

International career

Until his senior international debut, Woodburn was eligible to represent both Wales, through his maternal grandfather, and England.[58] During his early teens he attended a training camp with the England schoolboys' team and was later offered an under-16 call-up by England in August 2014. He rejected the call-up and chose to remain in the Wales setup at the time.[58][59] After his club debut with Liverpool in November 2016, it was reported that England remained hopeful of convincing Woodburn to switch his international allegiance despite previously being rebuffed. The possibility was ended in September the following year when he made his senior international debut for Wales in a competitive fixture.[60][61]

Youth

Woodburn has played for Wales up to U19 level and was first called up to train at one of the nation's regional development centres at Dragon Park when he was 13.[62] He played for Wales U15s in two games against Poland in March 2014, scored a hat-trick for the U16 side against Northern Ireland the following year and then captained the U17 team against Greece in 2016.[9][58][63] Later that year, he represented the U19 side in their UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualification matches and scored a brace in a 6–2 win over Luxembourg.[64]

Senior

On 16 March 2017, Woodburn was called up by head coach Chris Coleman to the Wales senior team for the first time, aged 17, for the nation's World Cup qualifier against the Republic of Ireland.[4] He remained an unused substitute, however, as Wales played out a 0–0 draw in Dublin.[65] He made his senior debut on 2 September, coming on as a second-half substitute for Tom Lawrence and scoring a 25-yard strike in a 1–0 win against Austria.[66][67] In doing so, he became Wales' second youngest goalscorer behind Gareth Bale and kept the nation within reach of qualification. He then came off the bench to set up the winning goal in the next match, a 2-0 victory over Moldova.[68] Woodburn featured regularly from the bench towards the back end of the qualification campaign as Wales ultimately fell two points short of a play-off spot.[69][70]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 2 December 2023[71]
More information Club, Season ...
  1. Appearance(s) in Championship play-offs
  2. Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy

International

As of match played 1 September 2021[75]
More information National team, Year ...
As of match played 1 September 2021
Wales score listed first, score column indicates score after each Woodburn goal.[75]
More information No., Date ...

Honours

Wales

Individual

References

  1. [1]
    "Notification of shirt numbers: Oxford United" (PDF). English Football League. p. 52. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  2. [2]
    "Ben Woodburn: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  3. [3]
    "Ben Woodburn - First Team". Liverpool F.C. Archived from the original on 5 June 2022. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
  4. [4]
    James, Stuart (16 March 2017). "Chris Coleman denies trying to tie wonderkid Ben Woodburn to Wales". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 March 2017.
  5. [5]
    Triggs, David (30 November 2016). "Who is Ben Woodburn? The Tattenhall teenager who became a Liverpool FC record-breaker". Chester Chronicle. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
  6. [6]
    Mundy, Ben (30 November 2016). "Who is Liverpool record-breaker Ben Woodburn?". Newsbeat. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
  7. [7]
    Hughes, Simon (30 November 2016). "Liverpool vs Leeds match report: Ben Woodburn enjoys night to remember but Garry Monk's men go down fighting". The Independent. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
  8. [8]
    Triggs, David (30 November 2016). "Who is Ben Woodburn? The Tattenhall teenager who became a Liverpool FC record-breaker". Cheshire Live. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
  9. [9]
    Pearce, James (28 January 2016). "Who is Liverpool FC teenager Ben Woodburn?". Liverpool Echo. Trinity Mirror. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  10. [10]
    Twelves, Ben (8 July 2016). "Tranmere Rovers 0–1 Liverpool: 5 things we learned from the pre-season opener". This is Anfield. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  11. [11]
    "Ruthless Reds Crush Fleetwood". Soccer Laduma. 13 July 2016. Archived from the original on 27 November 2016. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  12. [12]
    Carroll, James (8 November 2016). "Trio commit long-term futures to LFC by signing new deals". Liverpool F.C. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  13. [13]
    "Games played by Ben Woodburn in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  14. [14]
    Gorst, Paul (26 November 2016). "Ben Woodburn becomes the third youngest player in Liverpool's history after making debut against Sunderland". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  15. [15]
    Jurejko, Jonathan (29 November 2016). "Liverpool 2–0 Leeds United". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  16. [16]
    Hunter, Andy (29 November 2016). "Ben Woodburn sets record as Liverpool break Leeds to reach EFL Cup last four". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  17. [17]
    Carroll, James (29 November 2016). "Liverpool FC's youngest ever first-team goalscorers". Liverpool F.C. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
  18. [18]
    Bate, Adam; Wright, Nick (28 December 2016). "Ben Woodburn among five Premier League youngsters to watch in 2017". Sky Sports. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
  19. [19]
    Ames, Nick; Miller, Nick (28 December 2016). "Rising stars: 10 players to watch in 2017". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
  20. [20]
    "Klopp's decision to field youngest ever side backfires". Philippine Daily Inquirer. 9 January 2017. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
  21. [21]
    Matchett, Karl (7 January 2018). "The club record Ki-Jana Hoever could break & Klopp's strange weakness so far in the FA Cup". This is Anfield. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
  22. [22]
    Markham, Carl (8 April 2017). "Firmino and Coutinho rescue Liverpool and see off Stoke for crucial win in top four race". Irish Independent. Retrieved 8 April 2017.
  23. [23]
    "3 – At 17 years & 175 days, Ben Woodburn is the 3rd youngest player to start a PL game for @LFC behind Jordon Ibe and Michael Owen. Prospect". Twitter. OptaJoe. 8 April 2017. Retrieved 8 April 2017.
  24. [24]
    Staunton, Peter (8 April 2017). "Not sick and tired any more! Coutinho and Firmino rouse Liverpool". Goal.com. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
  25. [25]
    Lusby, Jack (11 April 2017). "Ben Woodburn listed for prestigious European award for 2017". This is Anfield. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
  26. [26]
    "Golden Boy 2017: Kylian Mbappé beats Dembélé and Rashford to award". Guardian. 23 October 2017. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
  27. [27]
    Doyle, Ian (9 May 2017). "The 2017 Liverpool Players' Awards – Relive coverage of the end-of-season event at Anfield". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  28. [28]
    Mitchelman, Ian (10 May 2017). "Wales wonderkid Ben Woodburn wins Liverpool FC academy award". WalesOnline. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  29. [29]
    Doyle, Ian (20 May 2017). "Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold and Ben Woodburn up for award – but where's Harry Wilson?". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
  30. [30]
    "McBurnie named PL2 Player of the Season". Premier League. 24 May 2017. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
  31. [31]
    Pearce, James (19 October 2017). "Steven Gerrard on making Ben Woodburn his captain". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  32. [32]
    "Games played by Ben Woodburn in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  33. [33]
    Johns, Craig (5 January 2018). "Who is Ben Woodburn? A closer look at the Liverpool prospect Sunderland want on loan". Chronicle Live. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
  34. [34]
    "Ben Woodburn: Liverpool striker signs long-term deal with the club". BBC Sport. 25 October 2017. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
  35. [35]
    "BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year 2017: Jonathan Davies wins award". BBC. 4 December 2017. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
  36. [36]
    Wilkinson, Jack (21 February 2018). "Liverpool 2–0 Manchester United: Ben Woodburn inspires Reds in UEFA Youth League". Sky Sports. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  37. [37]
    Price, Glenn (14 March 2018). "Steven Gerrard's Liverpool U19s knocked out of UEFA Youth League by Man City". ESPN. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  38. [38]
    Williams, Sam (1 July 2018). "Liverpool trio nominated for 2018 Golden Boy award". Liverpool FC. Retrieved 2 July 2018.
  39. [39]
    Carroll, James (1 August 2018). "Ben Woodburn joins Sheffield United on loan". Liverpool F.C. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  40. [40]
    "Games played by Ben Woodburn in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
  41. [41]
    Shield, James (14 August 2018). "Match Report: Sheffield United exit the Carabao Cup as Hull City progress on penalties". The Star. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
  42. [42]
    Pearce, James (18 December 2018). "Liverpool loanee Ben Woodburn hit with another setback in stalled season". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
  43. [43]
    Pearce, James (10 January 2019). "Liverpool considering loan offers for forward Ben Woodburn after disappointing Sheffield United spell". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  44. [44]
    Squires, Theo (3 June 2019). "Liverpool starlet told what he needs to do to break into first team next season". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  45. [45]
    Williams, Sam (5 February 2019). "Liverpool submit squad for Champions League knockout phase". Liverpool Football Club. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
  46. [46]
    "UEFA Champions League: Tottenham–Liverpool". UEFA. 1 June 2019. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
  47. [47]
    "Ben Woodburn: Liverpool & Wales forward joins Oxford United on season-long loan". BBC Sport. 30 July 2019. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  48. [48]
    Carroll, James (30 July 2019). "Ben Woodburn completes Oxford United loan switch". Liverpool Football Club. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
  49. [49]
    Williams, Chris (3 August 2019). "REPORT Sunderland 1 Oxford United 1". Oxford United F.C. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
  50. [50]
    "Bristol Rovers 3–1 Oxford United". BBC. 24 August 2019. Retrieved 25 August 2019.
  51. [51]
    "Ben Woodburn: Liverpool's on-loan Oxford United forward out for up to 12 weeks". BBC Sport. 7 October 2019. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  52. [52]
    "Ben Woodburn: Liverpool and Wales striker's new injury delays Oxford return". BBC Sport. 20 December 2019.
  53. [53]
    Pritchard, David (20 December 2019). "Liverpool's Ben Woodburn breaks other foot on verge of Oxford United return". Oxford Mail. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  54. [54]
    "Seasiders Sign Woodburn On Loan" - Blackpool F.C., 16 October 2020
  55. [55]
    Shaw, Chris (23 August 2021). "Ben Woodburn makes loan switch to Hearts". Liverpool FC. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  56. [56]
    "Liverpool: Divock Origi and Loris Karius among seven to leave Reds". BBC Sport. 9 June 2022. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
  57. [57]
    "Ben Woodburn Joins PNE". Preston North End F.C. 4 July 2022. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  58. [58]
    Wathan, Chris (30 November 2016). "What makes English-born Ben Woodburn Welsh? The Liverpool FC star's complicated situation fully explained". WalesOnline. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
  59. [59]
    Taylor, Daniel (27 March 2017). "Gareth Southgate wanted Wilfried Zaha for England role but was too late". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 March 2017.
  60. [60]
    Pearce, James (29 November 2016). "England hoping Liverpool hero Ben Woodburn will switch international allegiance". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
  61. [61]
    Bascombe, Chris (2 September 2017). "Wales 1 Austria 0: Liverpool's Ben Woodburn comes off bench to fire priceless debut winner". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  62. [62]
    Jones, Mark (23 March 2017). "Liverpool star Ben Woodburn's 'choice' to play for Wales, NOT England, shows how Welsh football is thriving". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  63. [63]
    "Wales U16 win Final Development Match". Football Association of Wales. 21 April 2015. Retrieved 28 March 2017.
  64. [64]
    "Ben Woodburn: Liverpool youngster inspired by Gareth Bale & Aaron Ramsey". BBC Sport. 16 November 2016. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
  65. [65]
    Malam, Charlie (24 March 2017). "Liverpool FC international round-up: Alexander-Arnold nets a brace as England U19s seal qualification". Vavel. Retrieved 28 March 2017.
  66. [66]
    "Wales 1–0 Austria". BBC Sport. 2 September 2017. Retrieved 2 September 2017.
  67. [67]
    MacInnes, Paul (2 September 2017). "Ben Woodburn's debut scorcher gives Wales vital victory against Austria". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 September 2017.
  68. [68]
    "Moldova 0-2 Wales". BBC Sport.
  69. [69]
    Dorman, Matt (3 September 2017). "Liverpool news: Ben Woodburn 'won't sleep' after stunning goal on debut". Goal.com. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  70. [70]
    Pritchard, Dafydd (10 October 2017). "Wales fail to qualify for 2018 World Cup: What next for Chris Coleman's side?". BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
  71. [71]
    Ben Woodburn at Soccerway. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
  72. [72]
    "Games played by Ben Woodburn in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  73. [73]
    "Games played by Ben Woodburn in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
  74. [74]
    "Ben Woodburn | Football Stats | Liverpool | Season 2021/2022 | Soccer Base". www.soccerbase.com. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  75. [75]
    Ben Woodburn at Soccerway. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  76. [76]
    "Wales vs. Uruguay - 26 March 2018 - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ben Woodburn.
Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Ben_Woodburn, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.