LFC Reserves & Youth Team Goals/Highlights

That is some horrendous camera work

 

No, it's brilliant; you just don't appreciate arthouse cinema techniques. The focus on the white van at the end was poignant.

 

Article:

Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk says young teammate Mateusz Musialowski is one to watch.

The Polish teen has started training with the first team squad and has impressed his senior teammates.

Kaide Gordon, Tyler Morton, and Conor Bradley have all been handed opportunities with the first team this season. And if the evident admiration and shock in Virgil van Dijk's reaction to the young Polishman is anything to go by, then Musialowski could be the next youngster to make his debut.

“Can we talk about his crossing?" Van Dijk said to the F2 Freestylers, after the 18-year-old whipped in a string of devilish crosses.

“His crossing is magnificent! The consistency is scary."

 

How reliable is he?

 

Article:

Tyler Morton: ‘Dad’s a massive Liverpool fan - my debut was emotional’
Exclusive interview: The teenage midfielder, whose family are all ardent Liverpool fans, discusses his breakthrough this season after well over a decade in the club’s academy

“It’s just been crazy,” Tyler Morton says, breaking into the first of many broad smiles. The teenage Liverpool midfielder has just returned from training, back to his family in Wirral where it all began, amid a season that’s already surpassed anything he dared to imagine. He insists he tries to switch off from football at home, but like the aches and bruises that have accompanied his promotion to the first team, the surreal moments are still sinking in.

There has been a home debut in the Premier League against Arsenal in front of his father, a season ticket holder in the front row of the Anfield Road Stand. That was quickly followed by back-to-back starts in the Champions League, as well as a pair of cup debuts to boot. “You can’t stop to look and admire for things for too long, but I never would have thought it,” he continues, the grin now permanently etched onto his face. “I’ve loved every single minute of it.”

Morton’s breakthrough last November was somewhat a virtue of fate, called into the void after injuries and illness ravaged Liverpool’s midfield. There was an inevitable jangling of nerves as he waited on the touchline, a sense of anticipation built up over a decade in the academy, until Jurgen Klopp wrapped Morton from behind in one of his signature bear hugs. “He told me: ‘If you play bad, it’s not on you, it’s on me. I’m putting you in this situation, so just show me what you’ve got.’ That took a lot of weight off my shoulders. It makes you want to play that much better for him because he’s put his trust in you. It was a proud moment that’ll stay with me forever.”

If it has been a baptism of fire, Morton has handled it adeptly for the most part. He is ambitious but pragmatic, aware that he’s now competing for places amongst the best midfielders in the world. At 19, he is still a little wiry and lightweight, and has spent extra hours in the gym on the afternoon we speak. But for what he lacks in physicality, he is trying to combat with technique. “If you’re clever enough you don’t have to get into the physical battles,” he says. “At the moment, I’m not the biggest strongest lad so I’ve got to use my brain more than anyone else because they can use their body.”

When asked who’s helping him to do that, Morton doesn’t hesitate for even a second. “Sometimes I just watch Thiago [Alcantara],” he says. “You can’t not just admire it; how he plays; the touch of the ball; the disguise he puts on passes. You think that’s where I want to be. He’s just that good.”

But for all his genuine cheerfulness, there is also a certain grit and tenacity that underlines Morton too. “Because I’m a local lad, we’re very... how can I say it... we just really want to win,” he says, before bursting into laughter. “You can see it in [Steven] Gerrard, [Jamie] Carragher, Trent [Alexander-Arnold], the local people, they love a tackle. I think it’s just where we’re from.”

It has been a short distance but a long journey to Anfield. Morton was playing for Greenleas FC when he was scouted by Liverpool and still remembers cramming into a small bus owned by Max Woltman’s father to compete at local tournaments – best friends since primary school, they both started in Liverpool’s third round FA Cup win against Shrewsbury. Morton’s father, Scott, was the team’s assistant coach and, after losing just once in the space of two years, Premier League scouts came to watch Greenleas in droves. “Even though we were so young, we had a winning mentality to us,” Morton says. “Even our dads, they weren’t yelling, but they had that competitive edge. It definitely helped.”

“Massive” Liverpool supporters, “from my great-grandad right down to me”, Morton and his family never considered any other offer before joining the club’s academy. After Greenleas’ weekend matches, his dad would have a change of clothes ready in the car and they would drive straight to Anfield. “He loves [Kenny] Dalglish,” Morton laughs. “That’s his all-time favourite. He always speaks about [Steve] McMahon, [Steve] McManaman, all the midfielders, how they would play. The main reason I’m playing footie is because of my dad. He knew where he wanted me to be but he knows the limits. He always let me have a life outside of football and was never too hard on me. I’m really appreciative to my family for the way they developed me as a person, not just as a player. When I made my debut, it was emotional for all of us.”

Those at Liverpool speak highly to that, with Morton’s ambition but grounded attitude making his rise through the academy relatively smooth by most standards. “I always wanted to try and be a role model,” he says. “Hopefully I was and I still am. There are going to be ups and downs but I always enjoyed it and it made me feel prepared to make that jump to the first team.”

It has been a sudden leap that’s raised Morton to cloud nine and left him with as many learning experiences, but he is under no illusions that opportunities might not always be as free-flowing. “I think quite realistically and I know to play for Liverpool week in, week out you’ve got to be one of the best midfielders in the world,” he says. “So for now, I’m just working towards being a professional footballer. Liverpool’s always been the aim, from the beginning to whenever I finish my career, so I’ve just got to keep showcasing what I’ve got.”

 

Sounds like a well grounded, good lad.

 

Morton :

But for what he lacks in physicality, he is trying to combat with technique. “If you’re clever enough you don’t have to get into the physical battles,” he says. “At the moment, I’m not the biggest strongest lad so I’ve got to use my brain more than anyone else because they can use their body.”

When asked who’s helping him to do that, Morton doesn’t hesitate for even a second. “Sometimes I just watch Thiago [Alcantara],” he says. “You can’t not just admire it; how he plays; the touch of the ball; the disguise he puts on passes. You think that’s where I want to be. He’s just that good.”

 

So Morty doesn't see himself as a DM? Also, right choice.

 

Article:

Atletico Madrid star Antoine Griezmann is keeping tabs on Liverpool academy starlet Keyrol Figueroa.

For one of the biggest admirers of Figueroa, 15, is French World Cup winner Griezmann.

Atletico Madrid's on-loan Barcelona ace, 30, plans on becoming an agent when he hangs up his prolific boots - and is taking a personal interest in the rise of the Anfield teenager.

Figueroa, the son of former Wigan favourite Maynor, receives regular messages of inspirational support from Griezmann.

A source close to the family revealed to the Daily Star: “Keyrol is amazed whenever Antoine gets in touch. He loves it.

“Antoine has become something of a mentor for the kid - via WhatsApp and with words of encouragement.

“It's brilliant for him to have one of the game's greatest strikers in football following his progress. It's a huge boost.“

 

Did not know that he was on our books. His dad was a decent PL footballer. I remember a lot of us wanted us to sign him for that troublesome LB spot during Rafa's reign.

 

Signed as a 15 yr old from Birmingham in 2020 for £500k.



Dated Feb 2021
https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sp...ews/liverpool-might-signed-next-jude-19849719

Article:

Left-back Scanlon - who has already been capped at youth level by England - wasn’t afforded the same opportunity, but that isn’t to say he won’t go on to become the next big thing to emerge from Blues’ academy.

“When I saw him as a 14-year-old he was playing one age group above his age,” says Jamie Atkins, who has been providing one-on-one coaching sessions for Scanlon. “He’s lightning quick, technically very good.

“There’s not loads of exceptional left-footed players around but quite early one when I saw him I thought his left foot was outstanding. The way he manipulated the ball and the way that he moved in tight spaces was exceptional.

“He took things on board very quickly and he was able to progress in our sessions very quickly. He has very good football intelligence and understanding.

“It was no surprise that he got called up for England and he did very well. He’s extremely humble, polite, well-mannered and hard-working. He wanted to learn and improve and he asked questions.

“We bounced things off each other because his understanding and perception of things was very good, but if he thought he could have done things better he would ask questions.

“For a coach it’s quite refreshing to work with someone like that.”

If Scanlon does go on to achieve anything like what Bellingham has done over the last two years, it will be Liverpool who benefit - despite all of the effort Blues put into another one of their own.