WUNDER BHOY
EXCLUSIVE Morrison aims to be the best after joining Bayern
LIAM MORRISON believes a shock move to Bayern Munich can help him achieve his dream of becoming the best defender in the world.
The 16-year-old from Saltcoats stunned Scottish football by quitting Celtic to move to the Bundesliga champions last week.
Handed his first-team debut in a 6-1 pre-season friendly win over Pinkafeld in Austria during the summer, Morrison (right) admits the Scottish champions did what they could to keep him.
Describing a move to Bavaria as a no-brainer, however, the talented teenager admits his long-term ambition is to follow in the footsteps of another former Celtic player, Virgil van Dijk.
‘The final goal for me is to be the best defender in the world,’ he told Sportsmail. ‘That is the ultimate goal. How I get there is by constantly trying to make myself a better player.
‘Playing alongside great players can only help me in that respect.
‘I take inspiration from Virgil
TO make a dream of his own come true, Liam Morrison had to break his gran’s heart. For the last six years or so, Frances Dickson has attended Champions League games at Parkhead with a shadow by her side.
Morrison was a Celtic academy player by the time the pair watched Bayern Munich win 2-1 in Glasgow in October 2017.
By then, his granmother’s ambition was already beginning to take shape. One day, she hoped, her own flesh and blood would walk out to the Champions League music in a green and white shirt.
Indeed, the idea of him doing so in the distinctive red kit of Bayern Munich would have been a preposterous concept.
‘I went to all the Champions League games with my gran,’ Morrison tells Sportsmail. ‘She is an absolute diehard Celtic fan.
‘We were right at the front of the stand for the Bayern game.
‘The most memorable night was when Celtic played Barcelona and won 2-1, when Tony Watt came on and scored. Honestly, it was one of the best nights of my life. Amazing.’
When Celtic learned of Bayern Munich’s shock interest in one of their unsigned talents, the carrot of first-team football was dangled in the distance.
Before Morrison had even signed a professional contract, Neil Lennon gave the teenager a run-out in a pre-season win over Pinkafeld in Austria. But, by then the die was already cast.
‘Gran is really gutted to see me leave,’ admits Morrison, who also played for Rangers at Under-12 level. ‘It was her dream to see me walk out at Parkhead to play for Celtic but she understood that Bayern was what I wanted.
‘It was hard for the family at the beginning when I left. But they realise it’s an opportunity I had to take and that it was impossible for me to turn down.’
Morrison asks that the people who helped him most are mentioned in dispatches.
His dad James, a former Aston Villa trialist, has always been his biggest source of encouragement and, when necessary, a kick up the backside.
His mother Louise made sacrifices along the way, while his
grandparents Frances and Gus Dickson and John and Jean Morrison get regular updates on his progress.
Leaving the Ayrshire town of Saltcoats — home of Lisbon Lion Bobby Lennox — would be a big move for any 16-year-old kid. Leaving for Germany to join one of the biggest football clubs on the planet is mind-blowing stuff.
‘I get text messages every single day from relatives telling me how proud they are of me,’ he continues.
‘The first week I was here, my mum, dad and little brother came over and stayed to help break me in and make sure I wasn’t alone.
‘A couple of weeks later, they came back over along with my gran and papa.
‘I showed them around and we went out for dinner. I had to pay for it, of course.
‘Just recently my mum, dad and girlfriend were over as well. It’s reassuring to know people can be here quickly.
‘My dad helped me so much because he knows so much about football.
‘He has always kept me grounded. He tells me not to get ahead of myself and to wait until I’ve actually achieved something in the game before starting to think I’m a player.
‘He has done everything for me over the past ten years of me playing football.
‘All my family have been so supportive and I owe my mum so much as well.’
A rounded and well brought-up kid, those who know him say Morrison is blessed with a ferocious work ethic and an attitude to match.
Having turned 16 in April, he has 18 Scotland caps at Under-17 and Under-16 level, but worried that Celtic’s withdrawal from the
SPFL Reserve League might result in a lack of competitive game time. Morrison is a year younger than Jadon Sancho when the England international left Manchester City to join Borussia Dortmund in 2017, but the 19-year-old winger’s explosive progress in the Bundesliga convinced him Germany was the place to learn his trade properly. ‘When I first saw Jadon moving from Manchester City to Borussia Dortmund I was surprised,’ he says. ‘But over the last two or three years, he has really impressed and is starting to kick on a lot.
‘If he was still at Manchester City, I’m not sure he would be in the place he is now.
‘German culture, football-wise, is how I want to play.
‘I love the way the centre-backs play it from the back. They are so comfortable on the ball and when they need to defend, they defend.
‘That’s the way I’ve tried to play the game, but Sancho was an inspiration.
‘He made the big step and it clearly worked for him. For me, there is nothing to be afraid of.’
Drafted into the Bayern youth campus, he’s a long way from sitting side by side in a first-team dressing room with Jerome Boateng. Yet, with a foot in the door, he now has the chance to become only the ninth Scotsman to play in the German Bundesliga despite Celtic’s strenuous efforts to keep him.
‘It was a great experience making my debut for Celtic in a first-team friendly,’ he admits. ‘It was great for my experience.
‘But, at this moment in time, I don’t need to be involved in a first team. I need to develop and learn the game.
‘A lot of the Celtic reserve players like Ewan Henderson, Jack Aitchison and Karamoko Dembele have messaged me, encouraging me to go and prove the people who say I’m making the wrong move that they’re wrong.
‘I’ve set myself challenges. I want to be involved with a first team when I’m 18, but right now I’m just concentrating on being the best player I can be.
‘I’m in the gym every day making myself a better player, analysing, watching.
‘The fact is that I wanted a new challenge and, ultimately, it’s Bayern Munich. It’s hard to say no to that opportunity.’
Morrison was in the gym yesterday morning, scrolling through social media, when news emerged of Bayern’s latest signing.
‘I’m looking on Twitter for Bayern news this morning and I see my own name there. Then I scroll down and it’s all about Bayern signing Coutinho,’ he laughs.
‘It’s crazy to be linked with the same club. Mental — but good.’