“It’s just been crazy,” Tyler Morton says, breaking into the first of many broad smiles. The teenage Liverpool midfielder has just returned from training, back to his family in Wirral where it all began, amid a season that’s already surpassed anything he dared to imagine. He insists he tries to switch off from football at home, but like the aches and bruises that have accompanied his promotion to the first team, the surreal moments are still sinking in.
There has been a home debut in the Premier League against Arsenal in front of his father, a season ticket holder in the front row of the Anfield Road Stand. That was quickly followed by back-to-back starts in the Champions League, as well as a pair of cup debuts to boot. “You can’t stop to look and admire for things for too long, but I never would have thought it,” he continues, the grin now permanently etched onto his face. “I’ve loved every single minute of it.”
Morton’s breakthrough last November was somewhat a virtue of fate, called into the void after injuries and illness ravaged Liverpool’s midfield. There was an inevitable jangling of nerves as he waited on the touchline, a sense of anticipation built up over a decade in the academy, until Jurgen Klopp wrapped Morton from behind in one of his signature bear hugs. “He told me: ‘If you play bad, it’s not on you, it’s on me. I’m putting you in this situation, so just show me what you’ve got.’ That took a lot of weight off my shoulders. It makes you want to play that much better for him because he’s put his trust in you. It was a proud moment that’ll stay with me forever.”
If it has been a baptism of fire, Morton has handled it adeptly for the most part. He is ambitious but pragmatic, aware that he’s now competing for places amongst the best midfielders in the world. At 19, he is still a little wiry and lightweight, and has spent extra hours in the gym on the afternoon we speak. But for what he lacks in physicality, he is trying to combat with technique. “If you’re clever enough you don’t have to get into the physical battles,” he says. “At the moment, I’m not the biggest strongest lad so I’ve got to use my brain more than anyone else because they can use their body.”
When asked who’s helping him to do that, Morton doesn’t hesitate for even a second. “Sometimes I just watch Thiago [Alcantara],” he says. “You can’t not just admire it; how he plays; the touch of the ball; the disguise he puts on passes. You think that’s where I want to be. He’s just that good.”
But for all his genuine cheerfulness, there is also a certain grit and tenacity that underlines Morton too. “Because I’m a local lad, we’re very... how can I say it... we just really want to win,” he says, before bursting into laughter. “You can see it in [Steven] Gerrard, [Jamie] Carragher, Trent [Alexander-Arnold], the local people, they love a tackle. I think it’s just where we’re from.”
It has been a short distance but a long journey to Anfield. Morton was playing for Greenleas FC when he was scouted by Liverpool and still remembers cramming into a small bus owned by Max Woltman’s father to compete at local tournaments – best friends since primary school, they both started in Liverpool’s third round FA Cup win against Shrewsbury. Morton’s father, Scott, was the team’s assistant coach and, after losing just once in the space of two years, Premier League scouts came to watch Greenleas in droves. “Even though we were so young, we had a winning mentality to us,” Morton says. “Even our dads, they weren’t yelling, but they had that competitive edge. It definitely helped.”
“Massive” Liverpool supporters, “from my great-grandad right down to me”, Morton and his family never considered any other offer before joining the club’s academy. After Greenleas’ weekend matches, his dad would have a change of clothes ready in the car and they would drive straight to Anfield. “He loves [Kenny] Dalglish,” Morton laughs. “That’s his all-time favourite. He always speaks about [Steve] McMahon, [Steve] McManaman, all the midfielders, how they would play. The main reason I’m playing footie is because of my dad. He knew where he wanted me to be but he knows the limits. He always let me have a life outside of football and was never too hard on me. I’m really appreciative to my family for the way they developed me as a person, not just as a player. When I made my debut, it was emotional for all of us.”
Those at Liverpool speak highly to that, with Morton’s ambition but grounded attitude making his rise through the academy relatively smooth by most standards. “I always wanted to try and be a role model,” he says. “Hopefully I was and I still am. There are going to be ups and downs but I always enjoyed it and it made me feel prepared to make that jump to the first team.”
It has been a sudden leap that’s raised Morton to cloud nine and left him with as many learning experiences, but he is under no illusions that opportunities might not always be as free-flowing. “I think quite realistically and I know to play for Liverpool week in, week out you’ve got to be one of the best midfielders in the world,” he says. “So for now, I’m just working towards being a professional footballer. Liverpool’s always been the aim, from the beginning to whenever I finish my career, so I’ve just got to keep showcasing what I’ve got.”
