Liverpool have suffered their fair share of talented youth players tantalising a glimpse of Steven Gerrard-esque potential with a prodigious introduction to life on the senior stage, only to fall utterly flat.
There have been some notable success stories, of course, with Trent Alexander-Arnold and Curtis Jones two integral members of Jurgen Klopp's ambitious squad, while talented prospects such as Jarell Quansah and Ben Doak have not yet solidified their status as starring Premier League players, though they are certainly on track.
There are, however, some bitter cases of unharnessed talent throughout the German's illustrious reign, with perhaps the most salient example that of Ben Woodburn.
How good was Ben Woodburn?
Woodburn was touted for big things in the fledgling phase of his career, but when he scored against Leeds United in the Carabao Cup in November 2016, becoming the youngest goalscorer in the club's distinguished history, Anfield erupted, certain a new hero had been born.
That goal was his only direct contribution for the Reds, making 11 total appearances and completing several loan spells, never quite performing at a level high enough to warrant a spot in Klopp's senior plans.
Unfortunately, Woodburn never really kicked on and departed to Preston North End last summer when his contract on Merseyside expired.
He would play 42 times last term but was primarily utilised as a rotation player, scoring twice and supplying three assists – one of those goals, however, did come against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Carabao Cup.
This season, he has yet to start for the Championship high-fliers in the league but has made eight substitute appearances, also scoring in his one cup appearance against Salford City.
The Wales international isn't alone in having failed to live up to the billing at Anfield, with Sheyi Ojo another to have fallen by the wayside.
How good was Sheyi Ojo?
Bursting onto the scene at youth level with MK Dons, Liverpool secured a swoop for a 14-year-old Ojo in 2011, for a figure believed to be around £2m.
Making his Reds debut in 2016, Ojo enjoyed an exciting loan spell with Wolves in the Championship – posting three goals and four assists – before being recalled by Liverpool and enjoying some match action across the latter phase of the football year.
Indeed, the dynamic winger impressed and then some, earning five starts late into the Premier League season and registering three assists, also scoring and assisting for the Reds against Exeter City across two legs in the FA Cup.
So impressive was the starlet that he started drawing some big comparisons to Raheem Sterling, who had risen to the fore with Liverpool and joined Manchester City in a £49m deal in July 2015, which was one month before Ojo's loan move to the Old Gold.
His gliding, graceful gait, blistering pace and innate skill was reminiscent to Sterling, but what differentiated him was his natural left-footedness, hinting at a future as a first-class right-winger given the composure he had exhibited in front of goal in the early days of his career.
It didn't work out in the end though, and Ojo's really is a case of failed application and an inability to harness his natural talent and channel it into something consistent, and while he remains a popular figure on Merseyside for the flair at his feet, he has endured incessant failure over many years now.
At 26 years old, the Watford-born ace is undoubtedly a worse blunder than Woodburn; while the Welshman failed to live up to his potential, he is still only 23 and remains a member of Preston's burgeoning squad.
Where is Sheyi Ojo now?
When Liverpool cut their ties with Ojo in 2022, it had been over five years since he last donned the famous red shirt, flattering to deceive over a number of years and loan stints and failing to live up to that lofty early promise.
A spate of injuries proved detrimental to his progress across his wandering journey across various outfits, with such miserable luck severing any possibility of fresh terms with the Anfield side.
He enjoyed some success with Cardiff City in the Championship in 2020/21, scoring five goals and supplying seven assists in what stands as the most productive campaign of his career.
But after joining the club on a permanent transfer last summer after his contract expired with Liverpool, Ojo failed to replicate for former feats and only bagged twice across 39 appearances across all competitions.
Having failed last year, Cardiff decided he was best placed elsewhere, and allowed him to join Belgian outfit KV Kortrijk on a season-long loan deal, and so far, he has yet to score from seven matches, earning one assist.
Season
Apps
Goals
Assists
23/24
6
0
1
22/23
36
1
0
21/22
18
0
2
20/21
41
5
7
19/20
19
1
5
18/19
15
0
0
17/18
22
4
2
16/17
N/A
N/A
N/A
15/16
8
0
3
Including the current campaign, with Ojo now plying his trade in Belgium, the fleet-footed wideman has only clinched more than one league goal across one of his past six seasons, which is an alarming absence of prolificness and ability in the final third – buttressing claims that he has been “woeful” from the like of Ryan Deeney.
For a player who tantalised so much promise in the opening phase of his career, Ojo is undoubtedly one of the most poignant failures from Liverpool's formative ranks over the past decade, and a stark reminder of the wayward direction that the club was headed before Klopp's transformative appointment.
And while Woodburn is another who has suffered a failure to kick on from Liverpool's academy, the 23-year-old has more time on his side and still earns his place in a Championship team – and one that is thriving too.
The sheer fact that he was compared to a remarkable prospect such as Sterling, who has now ripened into one of the Premier League's most illustrious present members, highlights how much potential faded away.
