Speaking exclusively to This is Futbol, Neil Mellor discussed Ben Woodburn’s Liverpool future, claiming that he believes there is no reason to write the player off.
The former Liverpool, West Ham United, Sheffield Wednesday and Preston North End centre-forward stated his belief that, in comparison to someone like Trent Alexander-Arnold, other players take slightly longer to mature in their professional careers, and that Woodburn, who is currently on loan at League One side Blackpool, could well come back to Merseyside a better player following his latest spell away from the club.
“He’s only 20, there’s no reason to write him off just yet,’ Mellor told This is Futbol. “10 Welsh caps, two goals for his country. For me, he’s still maturing, still learning as a player and there’s no set time when they do mature as players.”
Making his Liverpool debut as a 17-year-old back in 2016, Woodburn has gone on to feature a total of 11 times for Jurgen Klopp’s first-team, scoring one goal.
However, the attacking midfielder’s most recent appearance for the club came back in 2018, when he featured for six minutes in the club’s 4-0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion on the final day of the 2017/18 Premier League season.
Interestingly, the winger was once dubbed as the next Aaron Ramsey, but he hasn’t quite lived up to the hype as he’s yet to really catch fire at loan clubs, having spent time on loan at Sheffield United, where he featured eight times, scoring no goals, at Oxford United, where he scored one goal and provided five assists over 16 appearances, and, most recently, at Blackpool, where he has so far featured four times for the Seasiders.
Mellor continued: “Some burst onto the scene, like we’ve seen with Trent Alexander-Arnold, some maybe take a little bit longer. For Ben, that could be the case where he may need that next loan move to really help him mature and then he can come back an even better player.”
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After featuring in three consecutive games for Neil Critchley’s side back in October, Woodburn was then sidelined after having to self-isolate.
However, the Welsh international made his return to the side on Saturday, coming on as a second-half substitute in the club’s impressive 2-1 victory over high-flying Peterborough United, which, hopefully for Woodburn, is the start of another run of fixtures in which he is getting regular game time.