Tyler Morton‘s move to Lyon has so far been an unmitigated success, and he believes his Liverpool exit has been vindicated after a “very frustrating” time.
Winning the league while playing for your childhood club, not many can say they’ve done that.
So while Morton found the experience “incredible,” he was also yearning for more, having not played a single Premier League minute across the course of the last campaign.
Tyler Morton’s transfer to Lyon
• Vindicated exit: Tyler Morton says his £15m move to Lyon is a success after a “very frustrating” final year at Anfield
• Elite education: Despite winning the league, Morton felt ready for more minutes after training alongside Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister
• Alonso interest: The midfielder revealed he spoke to Xabi Alonso regarding a Bayer Leverkusen move before Liverpool blocked the transfer
Liverpool players pose with the trophy after winning the premier league.
Speaking to the Mail, the Lyon midfielder said: “As a fan of Liverpool and a boyhood Red, if I had told myself when I was younger that I would be part of a Premier League-winning team I would bite your hand off.
“I would do anything for that. It was incredible, but also it was very frustrating, obviously.
“I wanted to win so much because it was my club, the club I love. I wanted to be a Liverpool player. So it was difficult when I realised I wanted and needed to leave.
“I felt really ready to play for Liverpool, but there are different managers, different styles. Whatever he wants, of course, playing behind the likes of Ryan (Gravenberch) and Dom (Szoboszlai) and Alexis (Mac Allister), all incredible footballers, so I appreciated that.
“Now, though, at Lyon, I am loving it.”
SHEFFIELD, ENGLAND - Tuesday, September 27, 2022: England's substitute Tyler Morton (R) on the bench before the International friendly between England Under-21’s and Germany Under-21’s at Bramall Lane. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
While things may now be working out for the 23-year-old at Lyon after his £15 million transfer, he was initially linked with a move to Bayer Leverkusen in the summer of 2024, before being told he needed to stay to ensure the squad was deep enough.
Leverkusen had just come off the back of an unbeaten campaign under former Liverpool man Alonso, and Morton recalled: “I got to speak to Alonso on FaceTime which was amazing for me.
“To speak to someone who you idolise so much when you are younger. I used to go to the park with my dad and just play long passes, trying to replicate what Xabi did on the pitch.
“But it was up to Liverpool that I stayed. I did not get the game time I thought I was going to get, but it was an amazing season for the club.
“To be part of a team who won the Premier League, it was an incredible feeling. It developed me as a player, training with the best.”
“Sometimes the answer is not staying in England”
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - Tuesday, November 25, 2025: Bayer Leverkusen's Jarell Quansah after the UEFA Champions League match between Manchester City FC and Bayer 04 Leverkusen FC at the City of Manchester Stadium. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
• READ: Liverpool’s classy gift to former player after 17 years at Anfield
It is a credit to Morton that, despite being strong enough to make it in the Premier League, he chose to go abroad and nurture his talents outside of his home comforts.
“Sometimes the answer is not staying in England and the Premier League, it is to go to a big club in a different country and learn a lot,” the Wirralian explained.
“I am definitely finding myself. I am really happy here.
“My friends and the people I grew up with all understood I was ready to play for a big club. And they have been nothing but great for me. I have friends for life at Liverpool.
“I have grown up with Conor Bradley since I was 11 or 12, I have known Jarell (Quansah) since I was four or five and I am very, very close with Harvey (Elliott).
“They are my closest mates and I go and see them if I am at home. They watch my games when possible and it is lovely to get feedback from players who are playing at such a high level.
“It is amazing to have friends in football like that.”