After making his Premier League debut, Freddie Woodman opened up on the relationships he has built with his Liverpool teammates since arriving at Anfield.
The goalkeeper was called upon after Giorgi Mamardashvili went off injured against Everton and handled the moment well, staying composed when Liverpool needed him. It was the sort of situation Woodman had clearly prepared himself for, fully focused when the time came.
Speaking after the game, Woodman reflected on life at Liverpool and the biggest thing he has realised about sharing a dressing room with players such as Cody Gakpo and Virgil van Dijk. Those relationships have played a major part in settling into his role.
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Freddie Woodman on building a relationship with Liverpool teammates
Woodman admitted one of the first things he realised after joining Liverpool was that game time would likely be limited, making the mental side of the job and his presence on the training ground especially important.
He told The Times: “I quickly realised that my game time is going to be limited and so for the eight months where I’m training, I’m just thinking about those minutes when you could be called upon for ten or 20 minutes. You are nervous, but you can rely on all the preparation that you’ve done.”
The Liverpool goalkeeper also explained that being third choice has carried more importance than he expected because of the role he can play for the rest of the squad in training.
He continued: “Being third choice is, from what I’ve seen, more important than what I thought coming in. You are trying to have a relationship with the lads. So if Dom wants to do extra free kicks, I want to be there to help him. If Mo wants to do extra shooting, I want to be there to help him.
“You know, Mo Salah is coming to you and saying he wants to do extra shooting — it’s every kid’s dream. For me, I’ve watched him over the last seven to eight years and to build a relationship with Robbo, Curtis, Cody, Virgil.
“I saw these guys last season as superstars. And you come in and you realise that they’re just normal blokes and they’re good people and it’s been really nice to build those relationships.”
The players that make up the squad spend every day together, and forming strong bonds is imperative for a team wanting to win silverware. Liverpool are lucky to have found such a professional to take the reserve goalkeeper role.
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Woodman also admitted it would mean a lot to be given another opportunity this weekend. Alisson could be fit for Crystal Palace, but there’s a chance the stand-in gets another run.
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He said: “It would be unreal, incredible, to get another game in the Premier League and for Liverpool. I grew up supporting Palace. I was a ballboy and played against them in the Carabao Cup.”
Given the way he handled his unexpected introduction, Woodman has already shown he can be trusted if called upon again.
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