Report: £20m Liverpool player is working really hard in training despite being barely picked by Arne Slot

10/31/2024 04:00 PM

Liverpool’s win over Brighton on Wednesday was another feather in the cap for the Reds academy.

Amid a tough run of fixtures, it had always looked likely that youth was going to need to be relied upon in the Carabao Cup.

With several regulars missing through injury, Arne Slot ultimately started five players who have spent significant time in the Liverpool academy.

Three of those – Jarell Quansah, Curtis Jones and Tyler Morton – are local lads, with Conor Bradley a boyhood Liverpool fan and only Vitezslav Jaros brought into the club from elsewhere.

All five of those players have had differing struggles in trying to get into Slot’s Liverpool squad this season.

Morton is one who has certainly had to bide his time. But after turning in a good display against Brighton, perhaps his patience is starting to pay off.

Tyler Morton working hard to get Liverpool chance

Morton was almost not a Liverpool player for this season. The 22-year-old had looked likely to leave over the summer.

Liverpool were in talks with Bayer Leverkusen over a £20m sale but things reportedly broke down as the German club would only sanction a loan deal. So, Morton stayed put.

Having been a regular starter for Blackburn and then Hull over the past two seasons, the midfielder will have known that he would play much less across the first half of the season at least.

But according to The Athletic, that has not stopped Morton from giving it his all.

READ MORE: Neil Mellor says Tyler Morton is ‘far too good’ to be playing U21s football

They claim that the No.80 has been biding his time and ‘waiting for his chance’ to impress Slot.

In the meantime, Morton’s attitude is said to have been ‘excellent’ and he has reportedly been ‘working hard in training’ to try and catch the eye of the Liverpool head coach.

Something has obviously worked and Morton looked every bit a Liverpool midfielder during his 64 minutes on the pitch against Brighton.

Will Tyler Morton leave in January?

Morton actually ended Wednesday’s game with a goal contribution, having played the ball which led to Cody Gakpo’s opening goal.

Given the explosive nature of Gakpo’s finish, the pass in to him is not what catches the eye about the goal.

Nevertheless, it was a nicely weighted lofted pass from Morton and put the cherry on top of what was a good overall display.

With Liverpool looking slightly light in midfield, it remains to be seen whether the youngster, who turned 22 on Thursday, has done enough to warrant more game time under Slot.

Having played only 72 minutes this season, though, it would still feel like a loan move in January might be the way forward for Morton. Whatever happens, though, you can count on him working his socks off in the meantime.