Q&AKieran Morrison interview: New Liverpool contract, progress, leadership and aims

The 19-year-old has committed his future to the club hot on the heels of a hugely encouraging campaign for Rob Page's U21s side.

Morrison was a nominee for 2025-26 Premier League 2 Player of the Season and made two appearances for the Reds' senior team, as well as being called up by Northern Ireland for the first time.

The attacker, who joined the Academy set-up at U14 level, put pen to paper on fresh terms today and then sat down with Liverpoolfc.com to offer his reaction.

Read on for the interview in full.

Congratulations, Kieran. How much does it mean to you to put pen to paper on a new contract with the club?

Yeah, it's really good, it's really exciting. The talks have been going on for a few months now. So, it's a relief for me and my family to be able to sign a new contract at this club.

I know your family is here today and they've been with you on every step of this journey, which started when you were so young. How proud are they of how far you've come?

Proud-ish! My mum's proud of me and my dad is, to be fair, but my brothers just always take the mick out of me for everything I do, keep me grounded. I think my dad's the most proud. We've been training together since I was like four years old.

It comes on the back of a real season of progress, I think you'd say. We'll speak about the first team in a minute but just in terms of Academy level – 15 goals, 14 in Premier League 2, you were shortlisted for Premier League 2 Player of the Season as well. How would you assess your campaign?

It's been really good, it's been a massive improvement from last year. That was my goal this year – just to impact myself and PL2 as much as I can. I think I've done quite well. As a team, we wanted to get further in the play-offs but we've come a long way as a team, especially with Rob, the new manager, and obviously me becoming captain during it. It just shows how much we've come [along] since the beginning of the season. So, I'm really proud of my performances and the team's performances.

Can you speak to us about Rob giving you the armband? That extra responsibility, is that something you've relished? Is leadership a side of the game that you enjoy?

Yeah. He's been saying that I've become more mature. So, he's given me the captain's armband to try to lead the others the way how he wants me to lead them. So yeah, it feels like I've got more weight on my shoulders to carry the team in a leadership way. So yeah, it's a good challenge and I think I've done alright.

You won Player of the Month for PL2 back in January. You're the first Liverpool player to win it since Curtis Jones, which was back in 2020, so that must have felt like a huge honour...

Yeah. It feels like me and Curt get a lot of resemblance, comparisons. But it's a really big honour and hopefully I can follow in his footsteps and do what he's doing with the first team.

It's been a season of big milestones as well, not least your senior debut, which came in the Carabao Cup against Crystal Palace. Speak to us about that moment after so many years of academy football to run out at Anfield in the starting XI, hear You'll Never Walk Alone before kick-off...

I really can't put into words how I felt. The game didn't go how I wanted it to. I know that I could have done better and I know that I will prove myself again. But just to start, before the game just hearing the chant, hearing the crowd, the atmosphere, I was thinking I need to make myself be here as much as I can. So yeah, in that sense it was a really good experience and it just drives me to do more.

You had an appearance in the FA Cup as well, experience of being in Premier League squads, in Champions League squads as well. That must all be so invaluable on the learning journey that you're on at the moment...

Yeah, 100 per cent. Every matchday squad I'm in I'm grateful and I'm blessed. I came on against Wolves in the FA Cup – I should have scored! But hopefully I'll get another chance soon. I just know that I'll get my chance again and hopefully I'll take it.

Obviously you're getting more first-team experience, so you're spending more and more time around the players who've done it at the top level for years and years now. Just tell us in terms of the senior pros here, because they're so good at helping to bring on the younger players, in those first training sessions who stood out to you the most?

The obvious answer is Mo [Salah] and Virg [van Dijk] because of their stature in the club. Especially because Mo's position is quite similar. I just look at him for every little bit that he does in training, he always wants to improve himself. And another one is Dom [Szoboszlai]. I look up to Dom quite a lot because I always see him practise after training and it's like, 'If these guys practise after training then I need to practise even more just to get close to that level.' So those three are who I look up to the most in the first team.

Who has helped you the most as well and helped to bring you on? You mentioned there about Mo...

Yeah, probably Mo. Every time that I do something and he thinks I can improve on my type of cross or shot, he always comes and helps me with that. He doesn't need to, so it just shows me that he's a really good guy and I appreciate that a lot from him.

It's so important to have that pathway. You've obviously seen the likes of Rio [Ngumoha] get so many of the opportunities this season, Trey [Nyoni] had some as well. It must be really encouraging as a young player to know that route is there if you grasp it...

Yeah, 100 per cent. And those two are obviously smashing it. Full first-team players, especially Rio. So it just shows me that there is a pathway. You just need to keep going every day. Even if you feel like you're not going anywhere because you're just with the U18s or U21s, the first team are always watching you. So whatever you do in those games, you just have to give yourself the best account to step up to the first team.

Looking to the future then, I guess the plan is just to stay around that first-team set-up, be involved as much as you can? I suppose when you've got a taste of it now, you just want more and more...

Yeah, 100 per cent. I'm just glad that the contract's done with now, I've signed that now. It's just hopefully I'll be around there as much as I can. If they want me to go on loan, I'll go on loan. Just push on.

You obviously prefer to be on the wing, I think it's fair to say that, but you can play in midfield as well. But I guess just whenever you get the opportunity, you'll play wherever...

Yeah, if he puts me on right-back, left-back, I'll do my job anywhere.

International football, let's speak about that because that's a big part of your life as well. You got a call-up to the senior Northern Ireland squad for the first time, so I presume progressing in that respect as well is big on the agenda...

I've been there since U15s, I'm pretty sure. They called me up when I was 14, 15 and my nanna is from Northern Ireland. They've given me a really good pathway. They've told me what they want to do with me about my future. I've got trust in them and they've got trust in me, and it's good to see that they called me up to such an important camp. Obviously we didn't make it to the World Cup but I'm just glad that I was there around it with the more senior international pros. It was good.

It must help as well having Conor Bradley to speak to about that set-up. I'm sure he's been really helpful...

He has, to be fair. He wasn't in the last camp obviously because of his injury. But just someone there if I need to ask him any questions about the camps, obviously he's the captain so he's always there if I needed to ask for anything.

Looking ahead to the future then, you'll be hoping to go on tour this summer. What kind of aspects of your game are you focusing on for next season? Do you set targets?

Yeah, I always set targets. I don't want to talk about them! But I always set targets and this season I feel like I've accomplished a lot of my targets. So, hopefully next season goes just as well.

Let's speak about the fans because they will be keen to see a little bit more of you next season. How much did you enjoy having that taste of playing in front of them and how supportive have they been in your journey?

Yeah, they've been great. It's just good to see that they always have my back. It's a good confidence boost because I know that I've got the trust of the fans. And Liverpool's got the best fans in the world – they're always going to support you. So, it's just good.

Finally, what is your ultimate dream to achieve in a Liverpool shirt?

Just win everything I can with Liverpool. Just impact the most I can in the first team, playing obviously off the right but anywhere. And end up winning the Premier League one day.