Kieran Morrison may well be Liverpool's next Harry Wilson and that is absolutely fine - opinion
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Harry Wilson’s re-emergence as a force to be reckoned with in the Premier League should be teaching Liverpool some valuable lessons about their academy talents.Try as he might, the Welshman was deemed not quite good enough to break into the Reds’ first-team under Jurgen Klopp, making only two senior appearances for the club. Nevertheless, Wilson was a star talent within the Liverpool academy.
He may not be a prodigy like Rio Ngumoha, or a generational talent such as Trent Alexander-Arnold, but the 19-year-old deserves to be given patience in his pursuit of a first-team place.Wilson was never really afforded that, and as he is showing this season, perhaps he should have had more time to bed in as a squad player at Liverpool. Not every talent has to develop into a starter, and as they watch Morrison progress, the Reds’ decision-makers would do well to keep Wilson in mind.Morrison does not have to be a regular starterThere is always a fine line to be trodden whenever dealing with a talented young player like Morrison.On the one hand, players always want to play, and – as was the case with Wilson – there came a point where he simply had to move on or risk his career completely stagnating.Photo by Harry Murphy/Getty ImagesREAD MORE: Mohamed Salah in the midst of ‘long goodbye’ at Liverpool as exit inches closerBut while much will depend on the player themselves, Liverpool can also help this process by managing expectations.
Make your boldest prediction about Kieran Morrison’s Liverpool career We'll start: He'll play more games for LFC than Rio Ngumoha… Photo Credit: Getty Images/Liverpool FC Liverpool must choose next move carefully with MorrisonWhen Wilson was Morrison’s age, he had made one appearance for the Liverpool first-team and played seven times for Crewe Alexandra out on-loan.It was a loan move to Hull City, just before his 21st birthday, which really lit the touch paper for him, and seven goals in 14 games should have been enough for Liverpool to move him into the squad for the 2018/19 season.READ MORE: Harry Wilson: Making the case for a free transfer return to Liverpool this summerInstead, the Wales international joined Derby County, where he had another productive season, scoring 18 times as the Rams lost in the play-off final.Photo by Lewis Storey/Getty ImagesWhile Liverpool were champions of Europe at the time, they barely did any business in the summer transfer window, and Wilson simply had to be promoted to Klopp’s seniors. From there, they can keep him involved and allow him to develop into someone who can be relied upon when needed.Curtis Jones’ pathway is the perfect exampleWhere Wilson was not afforded his chance to progress at Liverpool, the Reds did a better job of promoting Curtis Jones in the following years.Like Wilson, Jones was not seen as a player who can immediately make a huge impact while starting matches, and was instead slowly integrated by Klopp.One appearance in the 2018/19 season was followed up with 12 in 2019/20, and then 34 the following year.