Liverpool's Quiet Winter Exit: A Homegrown Defender Heads for Shelbourne

Liverpool bids farewell to a homegrown defender as the window opens

Only hours had passed since the winter transfer window opened, yet Liverpool had already confirmed a deal to send its player away on a permanent basis.

According to the Liverpool Echo, the deal sends James Norris on a permanent move to Shelbourne.

The 22-year-old defender had been on loan with the side competing in the Irish Premier Division since February, making 45 appearances.

This move ends Norris's long association with Liverpool, the academy graduate who joined the club's youth system at under-9s.

He progressed through the club's ranks until reaching the first team, with his first appearances coming in December 2019, aged sixteen, when he came on in the last ten minutes of the League Cup quarter-final defeat to Aston Villa 5-0, becoming the fourth youngest player in the club's history to play for the first team.

And Norris appeared for the second and final time for Liverpool's first team in January 2022, coming on during stoppage time in the 4-1 home win over Shrewsbury Town in the FA Cup third round.