Report: Virgil van Dijk’s former club are eyeing a move for ‘exceptional’ Liverpool prodigy | OneFootball

Liverpool youngster Kieran Morrison is being lined up as a late-summer target for one of Virgil van Dijk’s former clubs.

The 19-year-old played in all three of the Reds’ friendly fixtures on the recent tour to the United States, scoring in the 4-2 win over Sunderland, although he was an unused substitute in the defeat to Monaco at Anfield on Sunday.

The Northern Ireland winger penned a new four-year contract in May, a demonstrable show of the club’s faith in him, but he could potentially leave Anfield in the coming weeks.

Groningen eyeing loan move for Liverpool winger Morrison

According to Football Insider, the Liverpool forward is being targeted by FC Groningen for a loan move, having been identified by the Eredivisie outfit following his exploits for the Reds in pre-season.

Morrison is ‘extremely highly regarded’ at Anfield, but club chiefs are open to letting him leave temporarily in order to gain senior exposue in the 2026/27 campaign.

The Dutch side – where Van Dijk began his esteemed career before coming to the UK – currently have a lack of natural wingers in their squad and fully believe that the 19-year-old is ‘well-placed’ to obtain regular game-time if he joins them on loan.

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Groningen could potentially be an ideal launch pad for Morrison

Groningen mightn’t have European football to offer this season, but they’re a steady mid-table Eredivisie team where Morrison would have the right balance between playing regularly and testing himself against opposition of good quality in one of UEFA’s highest-ranked domestic leagues.

That the teenager didn’t come off the bench in the defeat to Monaco would suggest that Andoni Iraola – who made 11 substitutions in all – doesn’t view him as a major part of his plans for the upcoming campaign.

In that case, it’d surely be on the winger’s best interests to obtain a loan move to a club where he’d have a much better chance of regular senior minutes in the short-term than he’d get on Merseyside.

Morrison appears to have a very bright future ahead of him – Liverpool under-21 boss Rob Page has lauded some ‘exceptional‘ moments from the youngster – and it’d be a shame if his development were to be stunted in the months ahead after such a promising pre-season.

Groningen have some esteemed previous when it comes to putting players on the map – Arjen Robben started his career there, while Luis Suarez also had a spell with them before moving on to Ajax and Anfield – and perhaps they can do the same for the talented Reds prodigy, if they agree a loan move for him this month.