Forgotten former Sheffield United loanee on trial at Championship side after Liverpool exit

A former Sheffield United loanee is attempting to resurrect a career that at one point looked like it was heading for the very top.
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Ben Woodburn was tipped for big things at Liverpool but an unsuccessful loan spell at the Blades appeared to put the skids on any hopes of becoming a key figure in Jurgen Klopp’s future plans.

The midfielder was brought to Bramall Lane by Chris Wilder with United then in the Championship, however, Woodburn appeared to struggle with the physicality of the second tier and his appearances were limited, not helped by some knocks, the form of his team mates and an ankle injury. He would make eight appearanes in all for the Blades.

Former Sheffield United loanee Ben Woodburn has gone on trial at Preston after his release by Liverpool. James Wilson/SportimageFormer Sheffield United loanee Ben Woodburn has gone on trial at Preston after his release by Liverpool. James Wilson/Sportimage
Former Sheffield United loanee Ben Woodburn has gone on trial at Preston after his release by Liverpool. James Wilson/Sportimage
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A season-long loan was cut short and the Wales international who holds the record as Liverpool's youngest goalscorer was back at Anfield for the remainder of the 2018/19 season.

After recovering from that injury Woodburn went down to League One to start again, taking on a loan spell at Oxford United but that move was also hampered by injury.

Oxford boss Karl Robinson upon signing Woodurn backed up the belief that a move to Sheffield and the Championship was too much, too young.

He said: “He came to us on a real low, after a difficult loan. I think that loan he went on was too soon. I think people forget how young he is. The Championship is so unforgiving it’s incredible."

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He would go on to have temporary deals at Blackpool and in the Scottish Premiership with Hearts before finally being released by Liverpool.

Now hoping to rebuild his career, Ryan Lowe has revealed that Woodburn is currently on trial at Sheffield United's Championship rivals Preston North End.

“I tried to do a deal to get him down to Plymouth when I first came down there, but he’d obviously been playing at a higher level,” said Lowe.

“Obviously his contract’s now ended at Liverpool. He was up with Hearts in Scotland last season and he’s a fantastic talent.

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“We’re hoping we can get a tune out of him. He's going to be with us for a few weeks and it’s over to Ben now to showcase what he’s really about, because with the likes of Ben who have probably had a little bit of a dip in form of late, we’re coaches and managers that want to try and bring the best back out of young lads like him.

"He’ll be with us for a little while. He’s a fantastic kid, he’s trained fantastically well today, a good footballer, but there’s probably one or two more that’ll probably come in with us over the pre-season training because it’s good that we can have a look at them and they can get a look at us.”