Recalling his Liverpool exit back in September, Tyler Morton discussed Arne Slot and Jurgen Klopp’s differing ways of dealing with him.
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Curtis Jones lines up ahead of Liverpool's UEFA Champions League match against Inter Milan at San Siro (Getty Images/Photo Agency).
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Liverpool need to sign midfielders to reach the same kind of depth possessed by their title-contending rivals. Maybe Slot is regretting letting Morton go.
Tyler Morton on conversations with Arne Slot
Since making his move to Olympique Lyonnais in the summer, Morton has shown why he was held in such high regard at the Liverpool Academy.
Lyon are top of the Europa League with the 23-year-old as a regular starter at the base of the midfield.
Morton was speaking to Le Progres back in September, and what he said about Slot’s reasons for not playing him as much as his predecessor is even more interesting now, given the issues Liverpool fans are having now.
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He said: ” With Arne Slot, I didn’t play as much as I wanted, even though I was ready. It was his decision, and I took it calmly, but I had to find another path.
“He was very open and very honest with me at the end of last season. We talked a lot, and he let me join Lyon.”
It was quite the difference from how Klopp viewed him after promoting him to the first team two years ago.
Tyler Morton and Jurgen Klopp for Liverpool
Photo by Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images
Morton explains: “Jurgen Klopp was the best coach for my development. I think at that moment, I was ready to play. I’m not saying that no one believed it, but I think I was ready, and Klopp thought so too. He gave me the opportunity to play on the biggest stage for a very big club. He believed in me, allowed me to go out on loan to develop.
“Jurgen just wanted the best for me, he made me play great matches in the Champions League and the Premier League. It was a remarkable period, he made me progress at all levels.”
As much as this is about Morton in particular, it raises a concern of the post-Klopp era. Slot doesn’t have the same desire to promote from within. There were claims that Slot wanted a left-winger to replace the outgoing Luis Diaz, contradictory to the club’s wishes for Rio Ngumoha to fill that gap in the squad.
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Jurgen Klopp addresses fans at Anfield after his final game as Liverpool manager in May 2024 (Credit: Getty Images/Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC).
Photo Credit: Getty Images/Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC
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In hindsight, Slot may have been right about that. Even as recently as this month with Liverpool’s failed pursuit of Antoine Semenyo, there were few arguments against the need for Diaz’s boots to be filled.
It does go against the club’s identity, though. Academy players have always bolstered the ranks of the squad — some have gone on to become true Liverpool legends, like Steven Gerrard and Robbie Fowler.
Under Klopp, you had Trent Alexander-Arnold, Curtis Jones and Conor Bradley to name but a few. Slot is approaching it differently. If results go his way like they did last season, fans can live with less emphasis on the academy.
But Morton, who could have possibly worked his way into a Wataru Endo-like role for the Reds, is instead plying his trade across the English Channel. And Liverpool, disappointing for most of the campaign, are going to have to find other solutions to their recent midfield performances.
Even the reluctance to rely on Ngumoha is a possible sign that Slot’s academy-snubbing is going to continue this season — the balance is hard to find, but we can’t shut the door to the academy either.
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