Benjamin Luke Woodburn (born 15 October 1999) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for EFL League Two club Salford City and the Wales national team.
Nearly a decade later, upon making his senior debut in 2016, he became the third-youngest player ever to play for the club and, in just his second appearance, broke Michael Owen's long-standing record to become Liverpool's youngest goalscorer.
[8][9] Having impressed first-team manager Jürgen Klopp during these training sessions, Woodburn was handed his non-competitive debut during the 2016–17 pre-season in a 1–0 win over Tranmere Rovers.
[25][26] On 9 May, Woodburn won Liverpool's Academy Player of the Season award following a campaign which saw him score eight goals in Premier League 2 and break into the first team.
[31] He made just one senior appearance, as a substitute,[32] during the first half of the season but signed a new long-term deal with Liverpool in October and was named BBC Wales Young Sportsman of the Year in December.
[40] His first start followed on 14 August in a League Cup tie against Hull City where, with the scores level after regulation time, the match progressed to a penalty shootout.
[40] Woodburn converted his spot kick but Sheffield United were ultimately defeated after his former Liverpool teammate Kevin Stewart scored the winning penalty for Hull.
[41] He struggled for game time during the first half of the season, however, compounded by an ankle injury sustained in December and by the midway point of the campaign had only made eight appearances for the club.
[59][60] After his club debut with Liverpool in November 2016, it was reported that England remained hopeful of convincing Woodburn to switch his international allegiance despite previously being rebuffed.
[63] He played for Wales U15s in two games against Poland in March 2014, scored a hat-trick for the U16 side against Northern Ireland the following year and then captained the U17 team against Greece in 2016.
[65] On 16 March 2017, Woodburn was called up by head coach Chris Coleman to the Wales senior team for the first time, aged 17, for the nation's World Cup qualifier against the Republic of Ireland.
[69] Woodburn featured regularly from the bench towards the back end of the qualification campaign as Wales ultimately fell two points short of a play-off spot.