Ben Woodburn on the path back

It was the year 2017. Real Madrid won the second in their hat-trick of Champions League wins, the New England Patriots completed the biggest comeback in Superbowl history and Ben Woodburn was nominated for the European Golden Boy award that was won by Kylian Mbappe.

A Sunday afternoon encounter at Liverpool’s academy is probably not where Woodburn envisaged his career at this point but there were positives to be found for the Welshman even in a bad defeat against Derby.

In the season of 2016/17 the records were tumbling as Woodburn burst onto the scene. The then 17-year-old became Liverpool’s third youngest debutant when he came on against Sunderland and just a few days later became the club’s youngest ever goalscorer in a League Cup victory against Leeds United.

International recognition came soon after as Woodburn found himself on the bench for a World Cup qualifier against the Republic of Ireland. Then, in a later qualifier against Austria and with the team struggling for impetus, Chris Coleman turned to the teenager and handed him his international debut.

What followed was the stuff of dreams as Woodburn blasted in the winner from 25 yards to send the Welsh supporters delirious and catapult the young man’s name into further stardom.

The Nottingham-born midfielder’s career was on an upward curve and his stock was rising at a dazzling pace.

All of this probably brought about unfair expectations as Woodburn was still very raw and very much still learning his trade. The underage setup at Liverpool was a good place to get away from the spotlight and develop further under the tutelage of Steven Gerrard.

The loan market has not been kind to Woodburn as his chances to test himself in the lower leagues have been blighted by injuries. An ankle injury saw his time at Sheffield United cut short while a broken foot put paid to any progression at Oxford United. On both occasions he was sent back to Melwood to recover with the club’s medical team.

Former Liverpool under 23 manager Neil Critchley took a chance on Woodburn and took him on loan to his Blackpool side earlier this season but 11 appearances, mainly off the bench, didn’t result in any goals or assists.

Having made such a big impact at such a young age it’s easy to forget that Woodburn is still only 21 years of age. Back playing with the under 23’s under Barry Lewtas, the youngster is now getting regular gametime and has captained the side since his return from Blackpool.

After having so much success so early and having since had knockbacks, you would forgive Woodburn if he was a little bit disillusioned with football but against Derby his hunger and desire was clear to see.

Starting on the left wing, Woodburn drifted throughout, often switching with Elijah Dixon-Bonner and in the second half finding himself up front as Liverpool tried to negate Derby’s tactics. He never stopped running throughout and was working hard and closing down right until the end.

This is a testament to the lad’s character as Liverpool were 4-1 down at this point and had been given the runaround by a very impressive Derby outfit. To keep making runs in behind and trying to lift the team suggests a strong mentality and a will to succeed.

It could have been a different match as Woodburn almost opened the scoring early on. Aerial ability wouldn’t be high on his list of strengths but a header wide from a corner represented the closest he would come to a goal on the day.

Woodburn linked up well with young striker Layton Stewart and the pair showed glimpses of what could be between now and the end of the season. Stewart is highly regarded at the academy and himself and Woodburn complimented each other really well in attack.

Woodburn was also doing his best as captain to lead the team though his early complaints got him into a bit of trouble with referee Martin Woods. A stern word from Woods soon put a stop to that and it was nice to see Woodburn learning from that indiscretion.

Coming into the last 15 months of his contract, it would be unfair to expect Woodburn to break into the senior Liverpool squad in the coming months but a proper pre-season this summer will offer the opportunity to impress Jurgen Klopp just as he did five years ago.

Another loan move will then likely be on the cards and it needs to be the right one. A move to a footballing side where he will play 90% of the games is what is needed at this point in Woodburn’s career.

A successful loan may not even be enough to forge a successful career at Anfield but it certainly won’t hinder Woodburn re-entering the public consciousness and ensuring those early career successess were just the beginning.