“I’m So Proud Of Him” – Rob Page On ‘Mature’ Liverpool Starlet Kieran Morrison | OneFootball

Much of the hype around Liverpool in recent weeks has centred around Rio Ngumoha, with the 17-year-old forward wreaking havoc regularly from the bench as Arne Slot continues to drip-feed the tricky teen into the first team ether.

Despite early season St James’ Park heroics and consistent impacts as a substitute, the more senior Cody Gakpo continues to take the lead role as the Reds’ left winger in the Premier League and Champions League in particular. 

However, behind Ngumoha lies potentially an equally exciting prospect amongst the academy ranks as Kieran Morrison has forced his way into the senior reckoning with a host of headline grabbing perofmrnaces. 

Signed as a U14 player after previously being on the books at Manchester United, the 19-year-old Morrison enjoyed a strong 24/25 campaign in both the Premier League 2 and the UEFA Youth League, netting seven goals.

But more recently, the Northern Irish youth international has taken his game to a whole new level under Rob Page, and his latest brace this weekend – including a superb right footed strike from 18 yards – in a 4-2 win over Tottenham saw him take his tally to 13 in all competitions, 13 in the league alone, a mark only matched by Harry Wilson previously in the red of Liverpool. 

Named the player of the month for January, the first from the club since Curtis Jones some six years earlier, the youngster, who made his debut for the senior team by starting a Carabao Cup tie with Crystal Palace at Anfield, is certainly making his mark and getting noticed as a result. 

A player with an eye for the spectacular who himself recently admitted – ‘I rarely score tap-ins’ – Morrison has also taken on the responsibility of wearing the captain’s armband recently in the absence of Amara Nallo, and manager Page has been just as impressed with the teen’s maturity as well as on-pitch exploits…

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On his goals and work rate: “You see him work hard in training. Giving him the armband has given him another lift as well. We’ve given him that responsibility, and he’s absolutely shining with it. The right foot goal for me was exceptional. He’s so quick off the first two yards, and the power he gets, that’s his wrong foot. It’s not his preferred foot. But he practices in training, so it’s no surprise that when he produces moments like that, because he works so hard through the week.”

On the biggest improvement: “Maturity. I saw from day one he had the ability, but there were certain things he was doing in and around, not just on the field, but off the field. So, I’ve absolutely drilled that into him. And he’s taken it on board. He can’t be the class clown anymore. Giving him the armband as well has made him step up to lead by example, and he’s doing that and some. I’m so proud of him.”

On the response to being named captain: “Kieran’s all about it. He wants to please people. He really wants to please people, and it’s a great trait to have. So, it’s nice for us to be able to give him those moments. And some players can’t handle the pressure. Some people rise to the occasion, and he’s absolutely done that.”

On dropping back down from first team action: “But he drives that himself (wanting to be the best player). I thought if I needed to tell him that because he was showing signs of being complacent, we would. Me and Jay (Spearing) would absolutely nail him on it straight away, but there’s no need. And Trey, and Rio, when they come down, there’s no complacency, there’s no air of arrogance where they go ‘now I’m a first team player’ – there’s none of that whatsoever. So that speaks volumes about the academy that we’ve got here and how we’ve kept the players grounded, and they appreciate that when they come down, the first message I say to them is we’re in good form and were having to leave two players out of the team to give Trey and Rio minutes. So I said, ‘respect the fact that you’re taking the players to people that are in good form at the minute’, and they have done absolutely. They have given top performances because of that.”