Celtic youngsters are often told that the grass isn’t always greener when they move away.
But despite the fact that he was given pre-season minutes by Neil Lennon, it was hard to begrudge Liam Morrison the opportunity to move to Bayern Munich.
The centre-half admitted that he thought he was being wound up when informed of the interest from the Bavarian giants.
He gave it a go, making a few matchday squads under Thomas Tuchel, but Morrison was soon sent on loan to Shaun Maloney’s Wigan before moving permanently to QPR.
With game time hard to come by at Loftus Road this season, he is now set to make his return to Scottish football.
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Ex-Celtic wonderkid Liam Morrison close to Scottish football return
A year after Morrison moved to Munich, he was followed by another Celtic youngster, in the shape of winger Barry Hepburn.
Despite starring in the UEFA Youth League alongside future elite-level players such as Kenan Yildiz and Aleksandar Pavlovic, Hepburn has now been without a club for almost two years.
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Morrison, on the other hand, has his sights set on Steve Clarke’s Scotland squad for this summer’s World Cup in North America.
It’s an ambitious aim, but this is said to be the motivation for the 22-year-old’s decision to move. Pete O’Rourke now reports that he is having a medical on Tuesday ahead of a move to Aberdeen.
The Dons are, of course, managerless after dismissing Jimmy Thelin at the beginning of the year. Their sporting director, Lutz Pfannenstiel, will be familiar with the defender from his time in Germany.
Scotland have a dearth of centre-back options. Celtic man Stephen Welsh has been tipped for a call-up, and you’d imagine that he’s ahead of Morrison in the pecking order at least.
Aberdeen were one of just two teams beaten by Wilfried Nancy’s Celtic during his 33-day spell. Brendan Rodgers’ Celts also prevailed when the teams met at Pittodrie in August.
Morrison has 68 senior appearances to his name across two-and-a-half years in the EFL.
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Standout players from Celtic’s B team
Celtic B’s current team has come in for plenty of criticism, with some fans believing that competing in Scotland’s fifth tier makes it pointless.
But Colby Donovan is an example that it can still produce first-team capable players.
Also in the matchday squad in Rotterdam on Thursday were Finlay Hale and Samuel Isiguzo, two Scotland youth internationals who have been training with the first-team.
16-year-old Joseph Haney was on the bench of Celtic’s win over Auchinleck Talbot on Sunday – he could be one to watch.
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