Liverpool Teenager Ben Woodburn Perfectly Placed to Develop Under Jurgen Klopp

The joy that erupted on 16-year-old Liverpool forward Ben Woodburn's face after notching the second goal of the Reds' 2-0 pre-season friendly victory over Wigan Athletic on Sunday afternoon served up one of the most unadulterated forms of footballing ecstasy: a young player scoring for his boyhood club.

This was Woodburn's second goal for Jurgen Klopp's side this summer, having netted in their 5-0 win away to Fleetwood Town four days previous, and the youngster also laid on two goals for his team-mates in that victory at Highbury Stadium.

Providing an encapsulation of his burgeoning talents as Klopp oversees his squad's preparations for 2016/17, Woodburn has garnered widespread praise, including from club legend Robbie Fowler, who took to Twitter to label the 16-year-old's goal against Fleetwood as the "first of many":

Woodburn's star is on the rise, and for a player whose game bears shades of Fowler—a former No. 9 worshipped on Merseyside for scoring 183 goals in 369 games over two spells with the club—this has led to heavy focus from supporters, who are desperate to see another Fowler, Steven Gerrard or Jamie Carragher break through.

But while Woodburn's performances this pre-season should be celebrated, as a young talent, he must be protected, for fear of his star burning out before its time—fortunately, the Welshman has the perfect manager in place to ensure this, with Klopp a master of youth development.

Alex Livesey/Getty Images

Growing up in Cheshire, Woodburn made the move to Merseyside at a young age, uprooting and changing schools to link up with the Reds' academy sides as part of the club's admirable youth recruitment drive.

After making the step up the Liverpool Under-18s squad for 2015/16, Woodburn quickly impressed, with his strike against Cardiff City Under-18s in the FA Youth Cup in January catching the eye of onlookers keen to unearth the next big thing.

Latching on to midfielder Adam Phillips' well-weighted 60-yard ball, Woodburn controlled the pass on his chest before swivelling to lift the ball over Bluebirds goalkeeper Luke Wakeman to set his side on the way to a 3-0 victory.

It was an emphatic strike that will have sparked Klopp's interest, with Woodburn showcasing the refined technique of a forward 10 years his senior. And the 16-year-old's performances throughout 2015/16 cemented his status as a high-potential talent.

Though the likes of Adam Phillips, Toni Gomes, Herbie Kane, Conor Masterson, Brooks Lennon and fellow pre-season stars Ovie Ejaria and Trent Alexander-Arnold all impressed for Neil Critchley's side last season, Woodburn's youth highlighted him as a standout talent.

As Liverpool Under-16s coach Des Maher revealed in his column for the club's official website after Woodburn's performance against Fleetwood, this is paired with the "level-headed" attitude required to thrive under Klopp:

"

He knows how much he has to learn but nothing fazes him and with an attitude like he has he could go far in the game.

Six weeks ago Ben was training with my under-16 group and here he is playing for the first team in pre-season.

It just goes to show the club believes in the younger talent and if you are good enough you will get an opportunity no matter how young you are. It is a fantastic boost to our under-16 group.

"

Maher holds up Woodburn's swift progress as an example for his young charges, though to make a mark on the first team at the age of 16 underlines the forward as a player of prodigious ability.

Woodburn is quick, intelligent and capable of operating in a number of roles along the front line—against Tranmere Rovers and Fleetwood, he was positioned on the left wing, while at the DW Stadium on Sunday, he lined up alongside fellow goalscorer Danny Ings in a central berth.

In each of those friendly victories, Woodburn highlighted different qualities to his game.

Alex Livesey/Getty Images

At Tranmere, it was his confidence to shoot from long range whenever possible; at Fleetwood, it was his technical quality and quick feet in combining with the likes of Ejaria and Roberto Firmino.

At Wigan, it was his pace and canny movement, spotting Ryan Kent's inch-perfect through ball and crafting a one-on-one situation with goalkeeper Lee Nicholls, finishing with Fowler-like aplomb.

Likely owing to his humility and dedication, Woodburn is a well-respected member of Liverpool's academy ranks, as Alexander-Arnold's words of praise on Twitter following his goal against Fleetwood prove:

The Reds face one final domestic friendly, away to Huddersfield Town on July 20, before they travel to the United States to take part in the International Champions Cup, taking on Chelsea and AC Milan, as well as another friendly against AS Roma in St. Louis.

This likely provides Woodburn with one final opportunity to impress Klopp, with the German telling reporters following Sunday's win over the Latics he wouldn't be throwing his youngest players in at the deep end this summer:

"

I think in the last few years in England it’s always a lot of youngsters in pre-season and everyone is excited about how good they are, then you never hear something about them.

I don’t want to do it like this—100 per cent not. We see the qualities and we want to improve these guys, we want to develop them. That’s what we do.

It’s not about America. Ejaria, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Ben are still in school—OK, at the moment it’s holidays but they have a few other things to do.

"

Mentioning Woodburn's education serves as a timely reminder of his position in the Liverpool squad—this is a young player who only signed scholar's terms with the club in May, and the German likely won't be involving him in his first-team plans until he is "18 [or] 19."

This, as Russian journalist Artur Petrosyan identified on Twitter, is vital, with Klopp perfectly placed to mould Woodburn "from a talent to a star":

Throughout his seven-year spell with Borussia Dortmund, Klopp nurtured the talents of Neven Subotic, Mats Hummels, Nuri Sahin, Sven Bender, Marcel Schmelzer, Kevin Grosskreutz, Mario Gotze, Ilkay Gundogan, Moritz Leitner and Jonas Hofmann into regular fixtures in the Bundesliga.

All were aged 20 or below in their first season under the German, and many went on to establish themselves as key players at Westfalenstadion—though, perhaps crucially, only Gotze was under the age of 18.

Nigel Roddis/Getty Images

In short, Klopp and his assistants, Zeljko Buvac and Peter Krawietz, boast considerable pedigree in developing young talent, and that Woodburn's emergence as a star player at under-18 level coincided with the new manager's arrival on Merseyside provides a welcome serendipity.

Announcing himself as a star of the future with goals against Fleetwood and Wigan, Woodburn can look forward to his development under Klopp at Liverpool—but he cannot be expected to follow the trajectory of Marcus Rashford at Manchester United just yet.

If the young forward continues to work away, Klopp will give him opportunities in the seasons to come. And when he does, Liverpool supporters could be cherishing another top-level homegrown talent.

Statistics via LFCHistory.net.

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