Liverpool forward Ben Woodburn could be set for a move to the Eredivisie as the one-time Premier League talent looks to revamp his stalling Anfield career, claim Goal.
Following back-to-back loan spells with Sheffield United and Oxford United, the Reds believe the Wales international would be better suited with a move abroad in an attempt to breathe new life to his diminishing Liverpool prospects.
Woodburn, 20, made history when he became Liverpool’s youngest ever goalscorer back in November 2016.
The Welshman netted in the League Cup against Leeds United aged just 17 years and 45 days old in a team that also saw Trent Alexander-Arnold handed his Liverpool debut.
Sparta Rotterdam are the team being touted as the team likely to benefit from the talents of Woodburn, who was previously linked with a move to Hull City earlier in the window.
Liverpool privately maintain that they would prefer Woodburn to move to Holland as the club believe the 20-year-old’s talents would be better suited to the Dutch top-flight.
Mason Mount previously benefited during a loan with Dutch outfit Vitesse Arnhem in 2017/18; which kick-started a run of form that has since firmly reinstated the England international as a regular in Frank Lampard’s Chelsea team.
With that said, Klopp will certainly hope Liverpool could benefit in the same way as Chelsea did with Mount.
He made just eight appearances during his time with Chris Wilder and Sheffield United then in the Championship, during the 2018-19 campaign – only two of which were starts.
Last season, another loan move was sanctioned, this time with Woodburn shipped to Oxford in League One. Their manager, Karl Robinson, was a fan, with a decent reputation both for developing young players – Dele Alli flourished under his guidance at MK Dons.
Early progress for Woodburn was quickly stalled after he suffered a broken foot which effectively killed all the early momentum initially built at the Kassam Stadium.
He quickly returned to Liverpool for treatment and began his rehabilitation process. He was ahead of schedule in his recovery when he participated in a training match at Melwood in December but suffered an almost-identical injury, this time to his other foot.
Woodburn is currently training at Melwood with Jurgen Klopp’s senior squad and was most recently seen captaining Liverpool’s under-23’s during a 1-0 victory in the mini-derby against Everton last week.
What RTK has to say
It’s difficult to see how Woodburn is to force his way back into Klopp’s plans given the array of young talent already at the manager’s disposal.
Klopp has been vocal that he will look to utilise the likes of Curtis Jones, Neco Williams, Billy Koumetio and Harvey Elliott more often this season which showcases Woodburn just isn’t a priority for the manager right now.
A move to the Eredivisie could inject some new life into Woodburn’s career and could be the perfect opportunity to rediscover some form in the hope of earning a permanent move elsewhere next summer.
Liverpool’s stock has never been higher and sadly for players such as Woodburn, Harry Wilson and Marko Grujic such relentless brilliance from Klopp and Michael Edwards over the years has meant that certain players have been left behind.
Fingers crossed the Welshman capitalises on his move and manages to stay injury-free.
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