Sadly, Liverpool has seen its fair share of wasted youth prospects over the years.
Liverpool has had its fair share of outstanding young players who tantalised with a peek of Steven Gerrard-like promise with a magnificent senior stage debut, only to completely fail.
Naturally, there have been some notable successes, with Trent Alexander-Arnold and Curtis Jones serving as essential members of Jurgen Klopp’s ambitious team. On the other hand, promising young players like Jarell Quansah and Ben Doak have not yet cemented their status as star players in the Premier League, despite being on the right track.
There are, however, a few tragic instances of untapped brilliance throughout the German’s great rule, with Ben Woodburn serving as possibly the most glaring example.
Ben Woodburn, how good was he?
In the beginning of his career, Woodburn was expected to achieve great things, but when he scored against Leeds United in the Carabao Cup in November 2016, becoming the club’s youngest goalscorer in illustrious history, Anfield erupted, sure a new hero had been born.
He made 11 appearances for the Reds overall, scored one goal, and completed four loan spells, but he never quite performed well enough to earn a role in Klopp’s senior plans.
Sadly, Woodburn never really got going, and when his Merseyside contract expired last summer, he moved to Preston North End.
Last season, he appeared in 42 games but was mostly used as a rotation player. He scored twice and provided three assists, one of which came in the Carabao Cup against Wolverhampton Wanderers.
He has made eight substitute appearances for the Championship’s top team this season, scoring one against Salford City. He has yet to start a league game for them.
Sheyi Ojo is another player who fell short at Anfield, joining the Welsh international in failing to live up to expectations.
How proficient was Sheyi Ojo?
Ojo, who made his name playing for MK Dons as a young player, was acquired by Liverpool in 2011 for an estimated £2 million.
Ojo made his Reds debut in 2016 and had a memorable loan with Wolves in the Championship, where he scored three goals and had four assists. Later, Ojo was called up by Liverpool and saw some match action in the later part of the football season.
The winger’s impressive play earned him five Premier League appearances late in the season, and he also scored and provided three assists for the Reds against Exeter City over the course of two FA Cup matches.
The young star was so outstanding that he began to be compared favourably to Raheem Sterling, who had emerged with Liverpool and joined Manchester City in a £49 million deal in July 2015, one month before Ojo’s loan transfer to the Old Gold.
Given the poise he had shown in front of goal in the early stages of his career, his gliding, graceful movement, blistering pace, and intrinsic skill were similar to Sterling’s, but what set him apart was his natural left-footedness, which hinted at a future as a first-class right-winger.
In the end, however, it didn’t work out, and Ojo’s case really is one of unsuccessful application and an inability to harness his natural talent and channel it into something consistent. While he continues to be a well-known figure in Merseyside for the flair at his feet, he has now experienced years of constant failure.
The Watford-born star, who is now 26 years old, is unquestionably a worse mistake than Woodburn, who, despite not reaching his full potential, is still only 23 and is still a part of Preston’s young team.
Now, where is Sheyi Ojo?
Ojo had been out of the renowned red shirt for more than five years by the time Liverpool severed their relationship with him in 2022. Over the course of several years and loan stints, he pretended to be somebody he wasn’t while falling short of his high early potential.
A string of injuries hampered his progress while he was playing for numerous teams, and this unfortunate luck eliminated any chance of signing new contracts with the Liverpool team.
He had some success with Cardiff City in the Championship in 2020–21, recording his best prolific season to date with five goals and seven assists.
Ojo’s contract with Liverpool expired in the summer of 2017, and he joined the club permanently. However, he was unable to repeat his previous success, scoring only twice in 39 appearances across all competitions.
After failing to succeed last season, Cardiff believed he was better suited elsewhere and enabled him to sign a season-long loan agreement with Belgian team KV Kortrijk. In seven games, he has so far failed to score while picking up one assist.