Liverpool prodigy Ben Woodburn attributes his stunning ascent to a determination not to let his surname become a byword for a perpetual bench-sitter.

Woodburn marked his senior debut with a goal as the Reds beat Leeds United 2-0 in an EFL Cup quarter-final at Anfield, breaking Michael Owen’s record as the club’s youngest ever goal-scorer.

But he was left fretting when he started the game as a substitute, a role the 17-year-old is especially keen not to become synonymous with.

Speaking exclusively to Football Burp, Woodburn described himself as “driven” in the race to avert an undignified entrance into common parlance.

He said: “I was a sub a few times for my school team and even then the other kids picked up on it.

“It’s really driven me on to dedicate myself to becoming completely unbenchable.

“Not a chance I’ll stand idly by and watch myself become actual nomenclature for substitute.

“Even less so for something that presumably would happen to your arse.”