Liverpool's youngest-ever scorer links up with Man Utd legends after latest transfer move

It says a lot for Jurgen Klopp’s willingness to utilize academy graduates that three of the five youngest scorers in Liverpool history occurred during his tenure. The only one of the quintet who did not make their mark in the last decade was Michael Owen, and it’s fair to say his career turned out fine.

The youngest goal-getter of all is Ben Woodburn, who netted in an EFL Cup tie against Leeds in November 2016. He made a total of 11 appearances for Liverpool , and though he only officially left at the expiry of his contract two years ago, his final game was the last Premier League fixture of 2017/18.

Woodburn had loan moves with Sheffield United , Oxford United, Blackpool and Hearts while on Liverpool’s books, before spending the previous two campaigns in the Championship with Preston. With his contract there having now concluded, Liverpool’s youngest ever scorer is off to League Two and a club with a very strong Manchester United connection.

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The main connection as far as Woodburn is concerned is Karl Robinson. He made 16 appearances for the Liverpool-born manager at Oxford, and they will now be reunited at Salford City.

The club is owned by Project 92 Limited, which is essentially the cadre of homegrown players who drove United to so much success under Sir Alex Ferguson . Granted, Peter Lim is the exception, but he is joined in the consortium by David Beckham, Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs, the Neville Brothers and Paul Scholes.

Despite such illustrious ownership, Salford have failed to gain promotion from League Two in five attempts. The closest it came was a play-off semi-final in 2022/23 but it took a significant step back last season, finishing 20 ^th .

The club’s lowly finish was not the fault of Robinson, who only joined the club in January. Salford was 11 ^th for the period he was in charge so will be hoping to build on that in the forthcoming campaign, with Woodburn’s experience likely to be invaluable.

Having been on the bench for the Reds’ remarkable 4-0 win over Barcelona in 2019, League Two will be a significant step down for Woodburn. But it also offers the Reds’ youngest goal scorer an opportunity to rebuild his career in a positive direction.

Liverpool.com says: Everyone connected with Liverpool will wish Woodburn well. However, Project 92 Limited are not known for showing patience with managers, so the former Red will have to hope Robinson remains in charge for the long-term. If not, he might be on the move again soon.