I have to admit, I didn’t expect to see Tyler Morton linked with a return to Liverpool so soon.
The midfielder only left Anfield last summer, joining Lyon in a deal worth £10 million initially and potentially rising to £15 million.
Liverpool also negotiated a 20 per cent sell-on clause, so the club clearly weren’t completely closing the door on getting something back from the player in the future.
Now, though, there is talk of something rather more interesting.
According to TEAMtalk, Liverpool are continuing to keep tabs on Morton after his impressive form in France, with a potential return to Anfield being considered.
And when you look at how things have gone for him at Lyon, I can understand why.
Morton has changed a lot
The Tyler Morton who left Liverpool wasn’t a bad player.
He was simply a young midfielder who needed to play.
That was the problem.
He had loan spells at Blackburn Rovers and Hull City and showed enough during those periods to suggest there was a proper footballer there. But when he came back to Liverpool, breaking into the midfield was always going to be difficult.
He made just 14 senior appearances for Liverpool and only five of those came during Arne Slot’s final season, with none in the Premier League.
So the move to Lyon made sense.
And it looks like it has worked.
Morton has become an important player for Paulo Fonseca, and TEAMtalk reports that after Lyon’s first 10 competitive matches this season, nobody in their squad had played more minutes than the former Liverpool youngster.
That’s quite a change.
This isn’t a player sitting on the bench wondering when his opportunity is going to come.
He’s playing regularly.
He’s trusted.
And he’s getting the sort of responsibility he simply wasn’t getting at Liverpool.
And this is where it gets interesting for Liverpool
Liverpool’s midfield is still something I’m not completely convinced we’ve got right.
There is plenty of quality.
Mac Allister is an outstanding footballer.
Szoboszlai can influence games.
Gravenberch has plenty of ability.
Wirtz obviously has enormous potential.
But the balance hasn’t always looked right.
We’ve seen Szoboszlai pushed deeper at times, while Wirtz operates further forward, and Liverpool are still trying to find the best combination.
That’s why Morton’s development is interesting.
He’s a different type of midfielder.
At Lyon, he’s been playing at the base of the midfield and has become someone who helps control games with his passing and positioning.
And perhaps that’s the role Liverpool could be missing.
I’m not saying Liverpool should suddenly rush out and buy Morton back.
But I can understand why they’re watching him.
The funny thing is Liverpool still benefit financially
There is another little twist to this story.
Remember that 20 per cent sell-on clause?
If another club came in and bought Morton from Lyon, Liverpool would receive a chunk of that fee.
But if Liverpool themselves decided to bring him back, the situation becomes slightly different.
Either way, the fact that the club protected themselves with that clause when he left now looks pretty sensible.
Liverpool clearly believed Morton could develop into a valuable player.
And that’s exactly what seems to be happening.
There are also plenty of other Premier League clubs watching him.
TEAMtalk reports that Brighton, Crystal Palace, Newcastle, Nottingham Forest, Everton and Sunderland are among those monitoring his situation.
So Liverpool aren’t the only ones who have noticed what he’s doing.
Would I bring him back?
I’d certainly consider it.
That’s probably the biggest change from when Morton left.
At the time, I understood why Liverpool allowed him to go.
He needed regular football and Liverpool had better-established options ahead of him.
But now we’re talking about a 23-year-old midfielder who has had a full season of regular football in France and is now playing a major role for Lyon.
That’s a very different proposition.
And there’s something quite appealing about the idea of bringing one of your own back after he’s gone away and proved himself.
We’ve seen Liverpool do this successfully before.
Sometimes a player simply needs to leave, play every week and grow into the position.
Maybe that’s what has happened with Morton.
He’s not the same player who left Anfield.
And perhaps the Liverpool he would return to wouldn’t be the same Liverpool either.
I wouldn’t write it off
There is still a long way to go before this becomes anything more than Liverpool monitoring a former academy player.
There has been no indication that a deal is imminent.
But I like the fact Liverpool are watching him.
It shows they’re not simply forgetting about players once they leave the club.
And if Morton keeps performing like this, the question is going to become increasingly interesting.
Did Liverpool let Tyler Morton go too soon?
I don’t know the answer to that yet.
But I certainly didn’t expect to be asking the question again this quickly.
For now, I’d keep watching him.
Because if Liverpool really are thinking about bringing Tyler Morton back to Anfield, it could be one of those transfers where the player who left isn’t quite the player who comes home.
Jamie (The Kopite View)
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