Sunderland Close in on Loan Deal for Liverpool and Wales Wonderkid Ben Woodburn

Sunderland have reportedly won the race to land Liverpool wonderkid Ben Woodburn on a six-month loan.

The Daily Mail report that the Reds forward is close to agreeing a deal to leave Anfield temporarily, Jurgen Klopp believing that a stint away from the Premier League club would be in Woodburn's best interests.

Plenty of Championship and lower level Premier League sides were linked with moves for the Wales international, but it seems that Chris Coleman has worked his magic and convinced the 18-year-old to head to the north-east.

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Coleman worked with Woodburn during the final months of his tenure as Wales boss, and his budding relationship with the winger means he is now closing in on luring Woodburn to the Stadium of Light.

Sunderland, who currently prop up England's second tier after a shocking season thus far, have not been granted any transfer funds to bolster their squad unless Coleman elects to sell any of his senior stars first.

That has ensured that the former Swansea boss must make do with bringing in a raft of loan signings if he hopes to turn the club's fortunes around, and Woodburn's possible arrival would be the perfect tonic for both the Black Cats and the teenager.

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Woodburn's progression into the first team with Liverpool has been stunted due to the wealth of attacking talent available to Klopp, with the likes of Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Philippe Coutinho standing in his way.

The Reds youth product has featured 10 times for Liverpool's senior side, but has only made one appearance for Klopp's men this term - a Carabao Cup run out in the 2-0 defeat to Leicester City in September.

Klopp wants Woodburn to continue his development in a first-team environment away from Merseyside and return after the summer break reinvigorated and ready to stake a regular claim for a starting berth.

Other interested parties who wanted to land Woodburn included Huddersfield Town and Brighton.