Liverpool’s latest young star is a midfield freak – & they snatched him from Man Utd
An injury crisis at the business end of Jurgen Klopp’s final season in charge of Liverpool feels strangely fitting. But if you can look beyond the sinking feeling, there’s an air of optimism in the form of yet another under-18 starlet.
Liverpool have never been afraid to rely on youth, but with their hands tied more than ever in recent years, Klopp has quietly worked miracles to turn the club into a talent factory for young ballers to emerge and stake their claim.
We feel old enough sat at our desks worrying about if we’re getting enough vitamins, drinking enough water and waiting desperately for payday, but these talented teenagers living out the dream at one of the biggest clubs in the world accelerate that feeling.
The most worrying part is that we no longer envy them, due to the nauseatingly high level they’re operating at within the cauldron of pressure that is senior football in 2024. If you can’t handle it, you’re quickly found out.
Klopp has found a way to ensure his brightest young stars don’t fall to that fate through the years and is doing the same again, establishing a young spine for the future without him – and for now, while their regular faces fight for a spare bed in the treatment room.
Curtis Jones has been a revelation this season but has succumbed to injuries, leaving Liverpool light in midfield with fellow academy graduate and hybrid full-back-turned-midfielder Trent Alexander-Arnold also out of action.
Conor Bradley and Jarell Quansah have managed to plug the gaps thus far and the Reds have a young Irish star ready to bolster their front line in Lewis Koumas, but there’s still a hole in midfield – which Kieran Morrison is more than ready to fill.
Yet another teenage Irishman blossoming in Liverpool’s under-18s, Morrison represents Northern Ireland at youth level and joined Liverpool’s academy at under-14.
A creative midfielder with tricky feet and a surprisingly deadly eye for goal, Morrison has made a habit out of punching above his weight, thus a first-team fast-track isn’t entirely unrealistic.
With seven goals and three assists from 12 under-18 Premier League games this season, he’s wasted no time in forcing his name into headlines and – crucially – conversations around Liverpool about what he might bring to Klopp’s squad in the event of an injury crisis.
The 17-year-old – born in 2006 (!) – can operate from the middle of the park or off the right-hand side, making him a moldable asset with an exciting set of traits and already a killer instinct that allows him to punish teams.
That all sounds great, but we’ve not touched on the best bit yet.
The icing on the cake to Morrison’s lofty ascent at Liverpool? He used to be on the books at Manchester United. It’s now become his mission to flip them the bird and force his way into senior football with their most bitter rivals – a serious kick in the teeth for the Red Devils.
Having shouldered the pressure that comes with moving across to a rival side and continually punching above his weight with various age groups, there is already a resilience within Morrison that nicely compliments a brewing technical ability.
Recent performances have also seen him trusted with the under-18 captain’s armband – an indicator of his lofty potential.
Football is a funny game. Typically, a player of Morrison’s calibre ought to be looking at kicking down the door to the under-21 side and perhaps making use of a loan to find a way into the senior setup, but with injuries, there might just be a path straight to Klopp’s first-team.
One thing is for certain; his potential cannot be denied and he’s doing everything in his power to deliver on it.
In the wake of an injury crisis, trusting in a young gun like Morrison can never hurt. He’s more than deserving of a shot.
By Mitch Wilks
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