Preston North End confirm capture of former Liverpool striker Ben Woodburn

Woodburn had been training with North End for the first week of their pre-season and has signed a one-year-deal with an option of an another year on the club’s side.

He played in PNE’s 3-0 win over Bamber Bridge on Saturday, he netted the second goal of the game and was involved in the build up that led to the winning of a penalty, which Ben Whiteman converted for the first goal of the game.

The 22-year-old was tipped for big things as he broke through at Anfield, becoming Liverpool’s youngest ever goal scorer.

He went on loan to Oxford United, Blackpool and Hearts during his time with the Reds and joined up with Ryan Lowe this summer following the end of his contract on Merseyside.

Woodburn said: “I’m very excited for the deal to be done. Obviously I’ve been on trial for a week now and things have gone pretty well, so I’m buzzing to get started as a Preston player.

“Obviously when I got called and told I could come and train, I was buzzing. I wanted to show the gaffer what I could do, luckily I’ve earned a contract out of it.

“He’s tried to get me at his older clubs a few times and unfortunately things haven’t worked out there, but now we can work together and I’m a fan of how he plays football, so I’m really excited to get going.”

He becomes the Lilywhites’ third signing of the summer, after Freddie Woodman and Dai Cornell joined just over a week ago.

North End boss Lowe likes the versatility that Woodburn provides and can even see him playing as a wing back in his 3-5-2 system.

He said: “Ben’s someone I’ve taken a real interest in over the past few years since he burst on to the scene at Liverpool at a young age.

“He’s a fantastic lad with a fantastic talent who’s had it up and down over the past few years, but we feel that at the tender age of 22, we can develop him into a top player for Preston North End.

“We’ve only had him with us for a week but you can see the quality he’s got. He’s a good footballer with a good footballing brain and he’s a good acquisition for us.”