Northern Ireland youth international signs scholarship with Premier League giants Liverpool

Morrison made his Northern Ireland U17 debut last summer against the Faroe Islands before playing in all three of their UEFA U17 European Championship qualifiers in March and scored during a 4-1 defeat to Denmark.

The 16-year-old has been progressing through the youth ranks at Anfield and made nine appearances for the U18 side that finished sixth in the 2022/23 U18 Premier League, bagging his first goal for Marc Bridge-Wilkinson’s team in a 3-3 draw with Derby.

Morrison also marked his first U21 outing in January when he was brought off the bench in Liverpool’s Premier League International Cup clash with PSG as they claimed a 4-2 victory over their French opponents.

He was on the bench for their UEFA Youth League penalty shootout victory against FC Porto and the midfielder will now continue to make strides at Anfield after signing his new deal.

A scholarship contract is usually a two-year agreement between the club and the academy player which provides a full-time football development alongside an education programme.

Former Derry City winger Trent Kone-Doherty also plays for Liverpool’s U18 side after making the move last summer and they’ll be hoping to follow in the footsteps of the likes of Steven Gerrard, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Jamie Carragher in the coming years, who made the transition from academy to first-team.