Freddie Woodman

Woodman has started matches at a genuine senior level for several different clubs, unlike most goalkeepers occupying a squad role who have barely played outside academy football. That experience shows in how calmly he organises a defence in front of him, communicating early rather than shouting instructions once danger has arrived. His shot stopping remains sharp even without the weekly rhythm of regular first team football.

Woodman won an international goalkeeping award as a teenager, a sign of the promise that first attracted bigger clubs before injuries and competition slowed his path to a regular shirt. Joining Liverpool as an experienced deputy is a different kind of role to the one he once expected, valued now for reliability and dressing room presence. Watch how he responds if a rare cup opportunity arrives, because chances like that are scarce in a squad role.