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Following a strong pre-season, expectations were high for Ben Woodburn, with the young Liverpool attacker expected to make the breakthrough to the first team. A regular starting role might have been beyond him this season, but regular starts in the League Cup and a regular role on the bench seemed likely.
His first and only appearance of the season, though, came in the League Cup—where Liverpool were beaten by Leicester City, making for an early exit. Now, with Adam Lallana returning to action and no injury concerns in attack for Jürgen Klopp, Woodburn is starting to feel an awfully long way from first team minutes.
That has led to a smattering of reports today, kicked off by The Daily Mail, claiming a January loan for the 18-year-old is inevitable and that he is likely to end up playing in the Championship over the second half of the season. Despite being a rather shaky source, it’s a rumour that at least seems to make sense.
According to the rumour, there is no agreement in place, but interest has been shown in Woodburn by a number of clubs—including Sunderland, managed by former Wales boss Chris Coleman, and Leeds United in the Championship, Huddersfield Town in the Premier League, and Hannover in the Bundesliga.
Not surprisingly, The Mail think that Sunderland, given both the Wales connection—Coleman gave Woodburn his senior Wales debut and a handful of appearances as they attempted to qualify for the 2018 World Cup—and the higher likelihood of minutes in the Championship makes that the most likely destination.