A TALENTED footballer from Saltcoats has made his first move into regular first team football.

It comes as central defender Liam Morrison has signed for Wigan Athletic on loan from Bayern Munich.

The Three Towns star will spend the full 2023/24 season at the Lactics as he became the club's first signing of the summer transfer window.

It will see the former Celtic youth talent link up with a legend of his old side in the form of current Wigan boss, Shaun Maloney.

Former Scotland international Maloney spent seven seasons in Glasgow until 2007, and returned as a coach in 2017 before leaving for a job with the Belgium national team.

Now Maloney will mentor 'Morry' as he makes his first steps into senior football after a successful start to his career in Bavaria.

The 20-year-old left Celtic for Bayern Munich in 2019 after impressing at Parkhead and earning 20 caps for Scotlands under-17 and 19s sides - which he captained.

Just months after his 16th birthday, Morrison went to Switzerland with Celtic’s first-team squad for their pre-season training camp, before making a dream move to European giants Bayern Munich.

It was a challenging transition for Morrison, who moved away from home less than a year before the Covid pandemic hit.

He also suffered a number of injury set backs in recent years - though he has not let this hold him back and has more than impressed in his time in Germany so far.

After just one season in their U17s side, Morry was quickly promoted to Bayern Munich’s U19s in July 2020.

He went on to receive hands-on coaching from former Argentina international defender Martin Demichelis and World Cup winner Miroslav Klose, which was of real benefit to his progression.

He has established himself as a regular for Bayern Munich II (their B-team/oldest youth side) over the last two seasons and even penned a new two-year contract earlier this year.

He also made his first appearance in a Bundesliga matchday squad in May after he served as an unused substitute in Munich’s 2-1 victory at Werder Bremen.

The young centre half will now join up with Shaun Maloney’s side for the 2023/24 campaign for his first loan spell in senior football, as they look to bounce back from League One to the English Championship after relegation last season.

Commenting on his move to the DW Stadium, Morrison told Wigan's media team: “I’m absolutely delighted to be here.

"I can’t wait to get started and play at this massive stadium in front of all the Wigan fans.

“For me, it’s important to start getting first-team football at my age. Wigan is a huge club - and you cannot downplay Wigan like it’s nothing compared to Bayern.

“I really wanted to come to Wigan as soon as I heard of the interest.

"With the new owners coming in - and Shaun Maloney starting his first full season in charge - there feels like there is a lot of positivity in the club.”

Boss Maloney also told the media team how excited he is to have Morrison on board.

He said: “Liam is a very positive signing for us. I’ve known of Liam’s talent for a long time back to when he was at Celtic.

"The fact we can attract a player of his calibre from Bayern Munich says a lot about this football club and the direction we want to go in.

"Liam’s an aggressive modern-day defender who is also very good on the ball. He will be a fantastic addition for us and I’m looking forward to helping him develop.“