A free agent after leaving Rovers last season, Ben Winterbottom has now landed a professional deal with Liverpool.

Goalkeeper Winterbottom was in to the final months of his deal at Ewood Park last April when he agreed a short-term deal with the Premier League champions.

He has progressed at Anfield to land his first professional contract with the club after progressing in to their Under-23s set-up.

The 18-year-old played eight times in Premier League 2 in 2019/20, including a penalty save on his debut against Debry County.

He was also part of the Under-19 team that topped their UEFA Youth League group and featured twice in the Leasing.com Trophy for matches against Fleetwood Town and Accrington Stanley.

In December, Winterbottom was also on the bench for the Carabao Cup quarter-final against Liverpool.

Preston-born Winterbottom failed to make an Under-23s appearance for Rovers, despite regularly featuring on the bench, and was also behind Jordan Eastham in the Under-18s pecking order.
Eastham has since progressed in to the Under-23s set-up himself and signed a two-year professional deal last month.

He joins Joe Hilton and Andrew Fisher as goalkeeping options within the Academy, with Rovers facing a re-shuffle in the senior team this summer with Christian Walton set to return to parent club Brighton, and second choice Jayson Leutwiler out of contract.