Liverpool’s academy has been highly important to the success they have had over the past ten years.
From players like Trent-Alexander Arnold and Curtis Jones, who have been key parts of the squad during those years, to Caoimhin Keheller and Jarell Quansah, who also made an impact.
The players the club have sold for big fees, such as Sepp Van Den Berg, Neco Williams, and last summer Ben Gannon-Doak, all helped the club sign players that made a significant change.
We have saw more appearances from Trey Nyoni this season, as well as 17-year-old Rio Ngumoha, however, questions have been asked about Arne Slot’s use of academy talent.
Back in September, Liverpool announced a major redevelopment of the academy centre, which is expected to be completed in 2028.
With this investment, next season, whether Slot is in charge or not, you’d expect a higher emphasis on youth pathways into professional football.
So, here is a look at three players who could make a breakout next season, either in the first team or out on loan.
This article will try to look at players who are more well-known to all Liverpool supporters, like Nyoni or Jayden Danns.
Kieran Morrison
Morrison has featured of the bench for Liverpool several times over the past two months, but hasn’t made a Premier League appearance yet.
His only first team game came in a 3-0 defeat at home to Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup earlier this season, in a game where Slot decided to use the U21’s.
He joined Liverpool from their rivals, Manchester United at a youth level just a few years back, and he is a highly exciting talent.
After his first season with the U18’s, Morrison quickly transferred to the U21 squad in the 2024-25 season, where he got seven goals across the Premier League 2 and the UEFA youth league.
Following his impressive first season at the U21 level, Wolverhampton Wanderers were reportedly interested in making a bid for him in the summer, according to Fabrizio Romano, but nothing came of it.
This season, Morrison displayed one of his most impressive performances in the youth league when Liverpool beat Eintracht Frankfurt 5-4, as Morrison netted once and set up another two.
Morrison is known for his neat footwork, as he is tricky outwide, and can also cause some issues in central positions when he’s required.
In 2026, he has demonstrated this at a ridiculous level, as in his last eight league games, he found the back of the net 11 times, which includes a hat trick and an assist against Arsenal, as he won Premier League 2 player of the month for January.
Following Liverpool U21’s 4-2 win against Spurs, where Morrison scored twice, Rob Page claims his ‘maturity’ is a big difference for him.
With eight league games left for Liverpool, as well as a possible FA Cup and Champions League run, I’d expect Morrison to get some minutes on the pitch after proving his class over and over again in the academy.
Josh Sonni-Lambie
The forward was picked up by Liverpool when he was 13, and has climbed through the academy ranks ever since.
He joined up with the U18 squad at 16 years old, where he showed his quality in front of goal as well as a keen eye for a pass.
He is someone who sits in front of the midfield but likes to drop in and pick the ball up before spraying it forward.
After a full season with the team in 2023/24, he stepped up his quality in the 2024/25 season with nine goals and three assists in 24 appearances.
This season, he’s improved further, starting the season with goals in the opening three games.
So far this season has 24 goal contributions in 29 games, which includes the UEFA Youth League, and similar to Morrison, he’s been on fire in 2026, with eight contributions in six.
The highlight of his season came against Stoke City, where he took control of the ball in the middle of the pitch and beat the keeper as he was off his line.
Sonni-Lambie is yet to feature in the first team squad, or even in the U21’s, but his performances this year have definitely given the higher-ups at Liverpool something to think about.
Haydn Murray-Holme
Perhaps a bit of a longer shot than the previous two, but Murray-Holme has shone bright during his first season at the U18 level.
He grew up on the Wirral and has been part of the Liverpool academy system since the age of six.
The 17-year-old has become a key component of the U18’s first eleven as the season has gone on, and has even made three appearances in the UEFA Youth League.
Following one of those Youth League games against PSV, Rob Page claimed that the young prospect is ‘Outstanding’ and ‘brave with his passing options’.
He has a similar style of play to that of former Liverpool academy prospect Tyler Morton, who is now showing his quality for Lyon.
Murray-Holme is comfortable on the ball and always has his eye on making a forward pass into attacking areas for players like Sonni-Lambie to get onto.
He’s mainly started in the pivot of the midfield and has been the bridge between the back four and the midfield.
So far this season, he has one goal and five assists in 22 appearances in all competitions.
While it could be too early for him at this stage, we have seen it before where a player has jumped from the U18’s into the first team due to the quality they possess, and Murray-Holme could well be the next.
Featured image taken by Daniel Moffat
Daniel Moffat 
Leave a comment