Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp: 'I won't rush Ben Woodburn'

By Darren Plant, Senior Reporter | 08 September 2017

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp says that he has no plans to rush the development of Ben Woodburn, despite his emergence on the international scene with Wales.

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has suggested that there is no temptation to rush the development of midfielder Ben Woodburn.

During the international break, 17-year-old Woodburn starred for Wales in their two World Cup qualifying fixtures, with a goal against Austria being followed by an assist for his nation's opener in Moldova.

However, while Klopp has acknowledged that Woodburn will get first-team action with Liverpool, the German has hinted that the prospect will remain on the periphery of the senior setup.

The 50-year-old told the club's official website: "There are so many stories from the past when very young boys showed up and later you didn't hear anything of them anymore. It will not happen with Ben.

"I think he is in the best hands here at Liverpool. We will do the right thing - he will play youth, he will play U23s, he will play first-team football. The main message is he needs to play football. He trains with us always and then we will decide each weekend where he can play.

"Our target is that we have him in the first-team because we like him, we see his quality and that's the main thing. But for us it's not too important if it's tomorrow or in a year, it's just important that we can use him then. That's what we try to prepare."

Woodburn has made nine appearances for Liverpool, but the youngster is yet to be selected by Klopp this season.