Liverpool – Three young guns
With Liverpool securing Champions League football for next season, manager Jurgen Klopp will be looking to utilise his squad as much as possible.
This could potentially open the door for Liverpool’s promising youngsters, of which there are several.
Here, we look at three of the brightest talents who will be looking to take their chances at Anfield next season.
Trent Alexander-Arnold
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The 18-year-old right-back is an athletic runner on the wing and a solid presence in the defensive line.
Klopp gave the Liverpool-born youngster his debut in October 2016, where he caught the eye in a 2-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur in the fourth round EFL Cup match.
His performance in that game was lauded by Anfield legend Graeme Souness, who said he “had everything in his locker to become a top player”.
Alexander-Arnold, who was named as the Reds’ Young Player of the Season in May, has represented England from under-16 to under-19 level.
Liverpool’s first-choice right-back, Nathaniel Clyne, is an established England international, and Alexander-Arnold has a way to go if he is to get a regular run in the first team.
However, with squad rotation likely, Alexander-Arnold’s ascent to the first-team ranks could be timely for Klopp.
Ben Woodburn
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Like Alexander-Arnold, striker Woodburn has had a debut season to remember for the Reds.
Despite only making nine appearances in all competitions, he hit the headlines in November when he scored in a 2-0 victory over Leeds United at Anfield in the EFL Cup.
That goal was not only the Nottingham-born frontman’s first for his club, it made him the youngest goalscorer in Reds’ history at 17 years and 45 days, overtaking Michael Owen.
Indeed, Woodburn’s rise is so rapid that he was called up to the Wales senior squad by Chris Coleman in March for their World Cup qualifier with the Republic of Ireland in Dublin.
Despite being an unused substitute, Liverpool’s Academy Player of the Year looks certain to feature more prominently this season for club and country.
Sheyi Ojo
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Liverpool reportedly paid £2 million to MK Dons for then 14-year-old Ojo’s services in 2011.
Scouts obviously spotted huge potential in the pacy and powerful winger, who has a gift of being able to charge past defenders and boasts a serious goal threat with both feet.
The 20-year-old is capped at every England youth level from under-16 to under-20, and has plied his trade in the lower divisions during loan spells with Wigan Athletic and Wolverhampton Wanderers.
His only Liverpool goal to date came in January 2016, in a 3-0 FA Cup replay victory over Exeter City.
