25 June 2024 , 01:00
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RB Leipzig want to sign Liverpool midfielder Tyler Morton in a permanent deal - but face competition from Premier League clubs.
Morton, 21, has spent the past two seasons learning his trade in the Championship, firstly with Blackburn Rovers and most recently Hull City. The England youth international wants to continue his progression with regular football in the upcoming season, although is due return to Liverpool for pre-season training under new manager Arne Slot early next month.
After playing nine times for Liverpool in the 2021/22 season, Morton now boasts more than 100 career appearances at senior level. That's attracted strong interest from Leipzig, the Times report.
Also keen on the midfielder's services are Spanish side Sevilla, German rivals Eintracht Frankfurt and Slot's former team, Feyenoord, as well as a number of unnamed Premier League clubs. Liverpool are said to value Morton at £20million, having tied him down to a new long-term contract 18 months ago.
Leipzig are renowned for signing players around Morton's age and developing them into Champions League-level stars. Liverpool even signed centre-back Ibrahima Konate from the Bundesliga outfit for £36m in 2021.
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Morton, a technically-gifted midfielder who enjoys driving forward and putting in a tackle, came to idolise Thiago Alcantara during their together time at Liverpool. Having grown up watching childhood hero Steven Gerrard dominate the Anfield turf, the 21-year-old talked to Goal about his new idol last year.
"It's Thiago now! It's hard to take your eyes off him when he's playing," Morton gleamed. "Sometimes you find yourself trying to copy the things he does - rolling the ball under my studs, no-look passes, that kind of thing! What a player."
Although Morton's future remains uncertain, former Barcelona and Bayern Munich playmaker Thiago will officially leave the club this month when his contract expires. It remains to be seen whether Slot wants Morton to be part of his first-team squad for the new season, although Jurgen Klopp was always a big fan.
Your turn! Should Liverpool keep Tyler Morton for the Arne Slot era? Join the debate in the comments section
Tyler Morton briefly played alongside Thiago Alcantara at Liverpool (Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)After Morton impressed on his away Champions League debut in a 2-1 win against AC Milan, Klopp hailed: "I don't want to make his life more complicated than it is already, when playing at such a young age for a club like Liverpool, with a performance like this.
"I think we should all calm down, but it was really good tonight! It was a big pleasure to watch the boy playing. The football knowledge, the football brain he showed tonight was absolutely exceptional. If you are technically on that level – and he obviously is - and you then have such good orientation, then sometimes we have enough time to do good stuff."
Klopp did have one challenge for Morton, though, telling Sky Sports in 2021: "We have to send him to the gym as if he gets a body, he's a brilliant footballer. There are some things to come physique wise, but the football brain is outstanding."