Northern Ireland Under-19 midfielder Kieran Morrison has joined senior international Conor Bradley in Liverpool’s Champions League squad for Wednesday night’s match away to PSV Eindhoven.
Former Derry City youngster Trent Kone-Doherty, who is a Republic of Ireland Under-19 player, has also been included with Liverpool boss Arne Slot opting to give a number of first team regulars a rest with the Reds already safely qualified for the knockout stages of the competition.
Should 18-year-old Morrison play against PSV, it would be his first team debut for the Anfield giants and he would become only the second Northern Ireland player to feature for Liverpool in European football following in the footsteps of Castlederg man Bradley whose first game was as a late substitute in a Champions League encounter versus AC Milan at the San Siro in 2021.
With Trent Alexander-Arnold one of a host of big names not in Holland, 21-year-old Bradley is set to start and will be one of the more experienced Liverpool players facing PSV.
There is a possibility that as many as four Irish players could feature with Republic of Ireland number one Caoimhin Kelleher playing in goal and the chance that 18-year-old Derry born winger Kone-Doherty might earn his first team debut.
With a busy schedule coming up and a testing league game away to Bournemouth on Saturday, the Premier League leaders have decided not to name goalkeeper Alisson Becker, defenders Virgil van Dijk, Alexander-Arnold and Ibrahima Konate, midfielders Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai and forwards Mo Salah and Luis Diaz in their 21-man matchday squad for the trip to Eindhoven while Joe Gomez, Diogo Jota and Curtis Jones are recovering from injury.
Slot will look to senior stars such as Andy Robertson, Konstantinos Tsimikas, Harvey Elliott, Darwin Nunez, Cody Gakpo, Federico Chiesa, Kelleher and Bradley to secure the point Liverpool need to finish top of the Champions League table in the league phase having won all seven of their previous games.