There’s an unfamiliar name at the top of Liverpool’s team sheet for this evening’s Carabao Cup tie with Crystal Palace, with third-choice goalkeeper Freddie Woodman making an unlikely debut for the club.
While Liverpool’s summer business grabbed the attention due to their lavish expenditure, Woodman’s signing went all but under the radar, joining as a free agent in July.
The 28-year-old’s arrival seemed to mimic transfers made by a number of the Premier League’s biggest hitters, making use of the the rarely-utilised third-choice keeper slot by adding an experienced but crucially homegrown player to their ranks.
He was expected to take on a role similar to that of Scott Carson at Manchester City, who spent six seasons at the Etihad and only made two appearances, with that berth now filled by fellow Englishman Marcus Bettinelli.
But with Alisson out injured and Giorgi Mamardashvili, after weeks of deputising, due a night off, Arne Slot has called upon Woodman for tonight’s fourth-round clash against the Eagles, facing the side he grew up playing for.
Woodman, who is Gareth Southgate’s godson, spent 11 years in the Crystal Palace youth setup, earning acclaim as one of the brightest teenage goalkeeping prospects as he represented England a numerous age groups.
He made the move to Newcastle in 2013 before breaking into the first-team setup, although he would only make a handful of appearances for the Magpies, with the majority of his eight years under contract being spent out on loan.
After underwhelming stints at the likes of Crawley and Aberdeen, he finally found regular football during a two-year spell at Swansea, where he made 95 appearances and kept 34 clean sheets.
But after another loan to Bournemouth in 2022 saw him only make a single appearance, he finally left Newcastle permanently to join Preston North End.
It was at Deepdale where he enjoyed the best years of his career so far, stamping his mark as their first-choice stopper to make 138 appearances across three years.
After the expiry of his contract in 2025, he made the surprise switch to the Premier League champions.
Woodman will now don the Liverpool jersey under the Anfield lights in what is likely the biggest match of his career and has stressed the importance of taking the Carabao Cup seriously.
Woodman told the official Liverpool website: “Any time I get to pull on the jersey for this club, whether it be a pre-season game or whatever competition, I’ll always just try to do my best and enjoy the moment, because I’ve spent a lot of time playing in the Championship and so to play for a club with this history is pretty special.
“It’s clear that this club takes the competition seriously, like it does every competition. When you get to the latter stages, you go to Wembley and you see how important it is to the fans.
“We train in the goalkeeping area at the AXA Training Centre and I regularly see the photo of Caoimhin Kelleher on the wall after his success in the recent finals, and that’s how important it is.
“You can really write yourself into history if you win trophies at this club, so I know how important it is and the club recognises how important this competition is too.”