Where are they now? Liverpool’s 11 youngest Premier League goalscorers
Liverpool have benefitted from several youngsters who graduated from their academy and became stars – but there are plenty of others who faded away into obscurity.
From Robbie Fowler to Trent Alexander-Arnold, Liverpool have developed some top-class talents over the years. But not all of them made it at Anfield.
We’ve listed the club’s youngest ever goalscorers to see what they’re up to now.
Michael Owen – 17 years & 144 days
Owen scored on his Liverpool debut against Wimbledon in 1997, racing on to a through ball from Stig Bjornebye and calmly slotting past Neil Sullivan.
It was the type of goal we would see so many times from Owen, and though he peaked early and upset many fans with moves to Real Madrid and later Liverpool, it shouldn’t be forgotten just how good he was when he broke through.
These days Owen can be found boring people with his commentary – or in one of the many adverts he has ‘starred’ in.
READ: An ode to a young Michael Owen, once England’s most exciting youngster
Raheem Sterling – 17 years & 317 days
Sterling scored his first competitive goal in the league was a strike from the edge of the box into the bottom corner against Reading in 2012.
The attacker grew from strength to strength from there and became a regular starter for the Reds under Brendan Rodgers, but in 2015 he joined Manchester City in a £49million deal.
Plenty questioned whether it was the right move, but Sterling has steadily improved under the tutelage of Pep Guardiola and City won back-to-back Premier League titles in the 2017–18 and 2018–19 seasons.
Robbie Fowler – 18 years & 191 days
Fowler scored on his Liverpool debut in the first leg of a League Cup tie against Fulham in September 1993 then all five goals in the return leg a couple of weeks later.
He scored his first league goal in his third appearance against Oldham Athletic, scored a hat-trick in his fifth appearance, and finished his first season with 18 goals in total.
He went on to score an incredible 171 in 330 games for the Reds before leaving for Leeds in 2001. He returned in 2006 to add another 12 goals to his total, finishing with 183, making him their sixth-highest top goalscorer of all time.
The 45-year-old took his first steps into management with Brisbane Roar in 2019 but left the club after a year in charge.
READ: Twitter spats and Brexit Ball: Robbie Fowler’s strange year at Brisbane Roar
Jamie Carragher – 18 years & 356 days
Carragher, playing in central midfield, scored his first Premier League goal on his first start against Aston Villa in 1997.
But if Liverpool fans thought it was a sign of things to come, they were wrong, with Carragher scoring only three more goals in his other 506 appearances in the top flight.
He actually scored more goals in the wrong end than the right one, but second on the list of the club’s all-time appearance makers, it’s fair to say Carragher did OK.
Nowadays you can find him in the Sky Sports studio, winding up Gary Neville.
Florent Sinama-Pongolle – 19 years & 4 days
Along with his cousin Anthony Le Tallec, Sinama-Pongolle signed for Liverpool when he was just 16 in 2001, joining from French side Le Havre.
Big things were expected of the pair, with Sinama-Pongolle scoring in only his second Premier League appearance against Leeds United in 2003, but it’s fair to say neither lived up to expectations.
Sinama-Pongolle made 65 appearances for the Reds in total, scoring nine goals, and has since gone on to represent clubs as diverse as Atletico Madrid, Chicago Fire, Dundee United, Chainat Hornbill and Saint-Pierroise.
He retired in 2019 and now works as a pundit on Premier League football for the TV channel Canal+.
Steven Gerrard – 19 years & 19 days
Gerrard’s first goal for Liverpool – against Sheffield Wednesday in 1999 – was not one of the many long-distance piledrivers he scored during his career.
As he picks up the ball in midfield from a position he would later be urged to shoot from at every available opportunity, Gerrard drives towards the box and sidesteps two defenders with ease before slotting the ball into the net.
He went on to score another 199 in the Premier League, all for Liverpool. Not bad.
Trent Alexander-Arnold – 19 years & 80 days
Having already scored a couple of Champions League goals, Alexander-Arnold bagged his first in the Premier League against Swansea City on Boxing Day in 2017.
The 21-year-old has developed into one of the best right-
Day 10: A goal you witnessed live
Trent Alexander-Arnold vs Swansea, 2017
Leave your answer to Day 10 below! 👇 pic.twitter.com/C2BxpQWD14
— Steven Gerrard (@Gerrard8FanPage) April 29, 2020
Curtis Jones – 19 years & 157 days
After scoring two goals in the FA Cup, Jones opened his Premier League goal account in a 2-0 win over Aston Villa in July 2020.
According to Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool will have “a lot of fun in the future” with Jones, who signed a new long-term deal just a day before his goal against Villa.
David Ngog – 19 years & 336 days
Ngog was described by Liverpool as “one of the brightest young talents in French football” when he joined from PSG in 2008.
His first goal in the Premier League came against Sunderland the following March, but the striker lasted only three seasons at Anfield before departing for Bolton in 2011 with an overall record of 19 goals in 94 matches.
After a brief spell with Zalgiris in Lithuania, he announced his retirement in June 2020 at the age of 31.
READ: The curious career of David N’Gog: From going AWOL to retiring at 31
Jonjo Shelvey – 20 years & 71 days
One of eight signings made during Roy Hodgson’s one summer as Liverpool manager in 2010, Shelvey did not score his first Premier League goal for the club until May 2012, a 30-yard screamer against Chelsea.
Just over a year later he was sold to Swansea City having scored only once more in the league for the Reds, but nowadays Shelvey is a crucial player at Newcastle United.
READ: Where are they now? Roy Hodgson’s eight signings as Liverpool manager
Jordn Ibe – 20 years old & 159 days
Signed as a 16-year-old from Wycombe in 2011, Ibe made his Premier League debut two years later but did not score his first goal in the competition until May 2016, against West Brom, in what turned out to be his final appearance for the Reds.
He was sold to Bournemouth for £15million that summer but added only three more Premier League goals to his tally on the south coast before being released in 2020.
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