Caoimhin Kelleher was less than subtle this week when discussing frustration over his Liverpool future. But there’s another player in the Reds squad who was perhaps also not expecting to still be at Anfield once the transfer window slammed shut at the end of last month.
Tyler Morton’s impressive loan spell at Hull City in the Championship last season – following a similarly encouraging time at Blackburn Rovers the previous term – had made the Academy graduate in demand with clubs from both home and abroad during the summer.
German side RB Leipzig and Europa League winners Atalanta – both Champions League qualifiers this season – were among those to express an interest in signing the midfielder, while Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen lodged an offer to take the player on loan.
No deal, though, was forthcoming. Having moved on Fabio Carvalho for £27.5million and Sepp van den Berg for £25m during the window, Liverpool had shown themselves willing to extract top dollar for their saleable assets and valued Morton at around £20m.
But, as with Kelleher, it seemingly priced the midfielder out of a move. And similar to the Republic of Ireland international, the youngster hasn’t been given a single minute of competitive action by new Liverpool head coach Arne Slot this season.
Indeed, Morton failed to make even the bench for the opening three Premier League games after not starting any of the six pre-season warm-up matches.
It meant his 71-minute outing for England under-21s in their 4-1 friendly win over Austria at Luton on Monday night was Morton’s first real action of the campaign, having remained on the bench for the goalless UEFA European U21 Championship qualifier in Northern Ireland a few days earlier.
For a player who featured 46 times for Blackburn – including an FA Cup quarter-final – and a further 41 occasions for Hull last season, the lack of regular minutes has possibly come as a culture shock.
Morton, though, doesn’t turn 22 until next month. Time remains very much on his side, and uncertainty over his future is settled for at least the next few months. He is now a permanent member of the first team and has been included in the squad for the forthcoming Champions League opening stage.
But it’s worth recalling Morton’s top-flight experience to date is a few minutes at the end of a 4-0 home win over Arsenal in November 2021 followed by an hour in the 2-2 draw at Tottenham Hotspur a month later when he was pressed into a full league debut in defensive midfield with Jordan Henderson and Fabinho both ruled out.
Morton has actually featured more in the Champions League – lasting the full 90 against both Porto and AC Milan – but hasn’t played for Liverpool since way back in February 2022 and a substitute outing in an FA Cup fifth round win over Norwich City.
The step up from the Championship to the Premier League isn’t an easy one. But Liverpool’s failure to recruit a new number six in the summer could offer a first-team opening to a player who, having emerged at the Academy as an all-action box-to-box operator, has spent much of the last two seasons in defensive midfield.
