I saw £20m Liverpool player show up vs Accrington and prove that Slot has been treating him unfairly - opinion

Yesterday at 03:00 PM

Liverpool enjoyed themselves in the third round of the FA Cup on Saturday, recording a resounding win against Accrington Stanley.

The Reds met Stanley for the first time since 1956 and for only the second time in their history.

A place in the fourth round was on the line and Liverpool didn’t disappoint on a chilly day at Anfield.

On an afternoon in which Rio Ngumoha made his senior debut and Federico Chiesa bagged his first Liverpool goal, the performance of Tyler Morton in the Reds midfield may have gone unnoticed.

It was only Morton’s third start of what has been a disappointing season for the Liverpool academy graduate.

After the game, Morton admitted to being frustrated by his lack of game time this campaign and on the evidence he put forward on Saturday, he has every reason to be.

Tyler Morton deserves more Liverpool minutes

"It's been tough for me this season, minute's wise. I think I've handled it very well, I've kept my head down and given it everything every day. I think I do deserve the chance.”

Those were the words Morton told LFCTV after playing for an hour against Accrington on Saturday.

The 22-year-old also refused to rule out a January transfer, admitting that he may have to make a ‘selfish’ decision and potentially go.

Based on the way Arne Slot has used Morton so far this season, accepting an offer to leave his boyhood club this January would be anything but selfish from the midfielder.

READ MORE: Jayden Danns delivers verdict on Rio Ngumoha's Liverpool debut in FA Cup clash against Accrington

Morton has played just 222 minutes in 2024/25, a portion of which came at right-back during last month’s Carabao Cup game against Southampton.

With Liverpool light in midfield and Ryan Gravenberch starting to look leggy, there are no more excuses for Slot as to why Morton is not getting on the pitch. It’s time to start using him more.

Liverpool set for Morton mistake

Morton clearly has an excellent attitude. The youngster impressed Jurgen Klopp during his time at the club and appears to be a positive presence around the Liverpool training ground.

On top of that, he is a naturally gifted player who has all the attributes Slot is looking for in a deep-lying midfielder.

At 22, Morton is still developing and would surely be happy to play as back-up to Gravenberch if it meant getting the odd Premier League start here and there.

Instead of giving it to him, though, it feels probable that Liverpool are about to let Morton walk out of the door. The Reds slapped a £20m price-tag on him over the summer, but having played as little as he has, Morton’s value has surely plummeted.

There are of course reasons as to why Morton has not played as much as he ought to have this season, but on Saturday, he showed that none of them are particularly good ones. Use him or lose him, Arne!