Midfield has been one of Liverpool's biggest problems this season, but they are getting a glimpse of a possible solution to those issues.
That glimpse comes courtesy of Tyler Morton, who is spending the season on loan at Championship side Blackburn Rovers. He has been a regular starter for the former Premier League champions, making 34 appearances in all competitions, with Rovers challenging for a play-off spot.
Morton had previously been picked out by Reds legend Jamie Carragher as a player to watch. The former Liverpool defender revealed two years ago that he was keeping a close eye on the youngster.
“Tyler Morton is someone I’ve known from a young age at the Academy. He has always been someone I’ve looked out for," Carragher told the Liverpool Echo in the summer of 2021.
His arrival at Ewood Park followed a long pursuit from Blackburn to sign him. And boss Jon Dahl Tomasson, who took over from Tony Mowbray in the summer was delighted to get his hands on such a highly-rated player.
“If a manager like Klopp, an excellent manager who’s one of the best in the world, trusts someone at Tyler’s age, that’s really positive. Tyler’s a young boy with a lot of talent," Tomasson said in August.
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"He’s played Champions League football for Liverpool and that shows the trust that Jurgen Klopp has in him. He’s still a young boy and is one of the players who Liverpool want to get in their team in the years to come.”
Morton started the campaign as a substitute but quickly worked his way into Blackburn's starting line-up. He has gone on to make 24 starts in the Championship, mostly being selected in defensive midfield.
His standout performance came back in October during a 3-0 win over Rotherham United. Though he did not score or claim an assist, many picked out the 20-year-old as man of the match, with Tomasson clearly impressed.
The Rovers boss said: “You can see he’s been in a good school, the Liverpool school, the Jurgen Klopp school – you can see that. He is enjoying life here at Rovers, I like to see the boy because he’s getting important."
The youngster continued to impress heading into the winter break for the World Cup. And he admitted that while it had taken him time to adapt, he was enjoying life playing under Tomasson.
"It took a while to fit in and just adapt to everything that was happening because I have been at Liverpool since I was four or five and that's all I knew really. I knew it was going to be a tough challenge for me," he said in December.
"But I'm really enjoying it. That's what I like – I like tough challenges and it has definitely been one of them. I'm really happy where I am at the moment and the strides I'm taking. Hopefully, I take more.
"Coming here, it's full of top-class players and that's what I've noticed, the Championship has got world-class players but it's a lot different, it's 100 miles an hour. It's tough, especially the intensity everyone plays at, it's different.
"And it's game after game, there's no break, it's tough. But I feel like I've adapted to it now, but it took me a while when I first came in and it wasn't easy at the start. Now that I'm starting to play and starting to find my feet, it's a lot easier and I'm really enjoying it."
Things have been more difficult for both Morton and Blackburn since the Championship returned though. They have won just three games in the second tier in that time, in a serious knock to their hopes of claiming a play-off spot.
The lowest moment of Morton's time at the club came last Wednesday, when he was at fault for West Brom's goal in a 1-1 draw. Tomasson refused to point fingers at Morton and insisted he was frustrated with the team's defending as a whole.
"You are always disappointed when you concede goals. The opponent got many first contacts when we failed to get rid of the ball. When you concede goals there are always players involved that make mistakes and that’s part of football," he said.
"I loved the attitude of the lads at the end, a big shift - they were going for it and you could see that togetherness. Of course, you should get rid of the ball in that situation but the opponent also got contacts in our box.
"We should have done better with that - I also think about that. He’s going to be an extremely good player over time. Playing that many games at this level is good for him and I think he’s deserved to play this many games."
Despite that backing, Morton was dropped from the starting line-up for Blackburn's win over Swansea on Saturday. In fact, it was the first time this season that he was an unused substitute for a Championship match.
While he has impressed hugely since his arrival from Anfield, it appears that the 20-year-old may have some work to do to retake his place in Tomasson's plans for the run-in.
