Liverpool midfielder with ‘absolutely exceptional’ brain takes big step forward

Liverpool's Tyler Morton is edging towards a playing return. The midfielder was spotted on training on Tuesday as he battles back from a fractured foot.

Morton spent last season on loan at Blackburn Rovers where he gained invaluable senior experience. The Wirral-born youngster made a total of 46 appearances for the Championship outfit. However, his campaign was cut short in April when he suffered a metatarsal issue.

As a result, Morton was ruled out of action for the Reds' entire pre-season campaign. Indeed, chances would have likely been presented to the 20-year-old with Jordan Henderson, Fabinho and James Milner departing and manager Jurgen Klopp left with a dearth of options in his engine room.

Morton will be hopeful of a return to action and his recovery appears to have taken a step up. He was spotted back training with Liverpool's first team on Tuesday. That will be a marked boost for the England under-20 international, who made nine appearances for the Reds in the 2021-22 season - including full Premier League and Champions League debuts.

Speaking after a 2-1 victory over AC Milan at the San Siro in December 2021, Klopp said on Morton's performance: “I don’t want to make his life more complicated than it is already, when playing at such a young age for a club like Liverpool, with a performance like this.

“I think we should all calm down, but it was really good tonight! It was a big pleasure to watch the boy playing. The football knowledge, the football brain he showed tonight was absolutely exceptional. If you are technically on that level – and he obviously is – and you then have such good orientation, then sometimes we have enough time to do good stuff. That is what he did tonight. On top of that, he defended incredibly well, together with the other boys.”