Since taking over from Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool in the summer of 2024, Arne Slot is facing his first real rough patch. The Dutch manager is struggling to get his star-studded squad firing this season, and to make matters worse, several players he allowed to leave are flourishing elsewhere.
The most striking example is Bayern Munich’s dynamic winger, Luis Diaz. A key figure in Liverpool’s Premier League-winning side under Slot last term, Diaz has now elevated his game to even greater heights since moving to Bavaria. Meanwhile, the struggles of Cody Gakpo, Alexander Isak, and Mohamed Salah this season may be magnified by Diaz’s departure.
But there’s another former Red who quietly left without much attention—Tyler Morton—who could turn out to be Slot’s biggest regret. Reports suggest Morton, who joined Lyon over the summer, is on Crystal Palace’s radar as a potential replacement for Adam Wharton. Ironically, Liverpool themselves are reportedly tracking Wharton, meaning the two could theoretically swap places.
That Palace are eyeing Morton indicates they see him as a similar profile to Wharton. So the obvious question arises: why wasn’t Morton given a fair shot at Anfield?
Morton made just 14 first-team appearances for Liverpool, only five of them under Slot, totaling a mere 263 minutes. He was clearly behind the likes of Ryan Gravenberch, Dominik Szoboszlai, Alexis Mac Allister, Curtis Jones, and Wataru Endo in the pecking order. Seeking regular football, Morton left his boyhood club—and so far, it’s paid off. In France, he’s already featured 15 times this season, amassing almost five times the minutes he got at Liverpool.
His performances have impressed Lyon fans, including a standout display against reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain. If Slot failed to recognize the value of a technically gifted midfielder like Morton, will he really act differently with Wharton? Likely yes—though securing Wharton could cost around £100 million. While Wharton’s talent is undeniable, the logic of giving Morton minimal opportunities only to pay huge for a like-for-like replacement seems questionable.
Liverpool supporters have voiced their frustration. One fan even claimed they’d rather re-sign Morton than spend £100m on Wharton: “I’d rather bring Tyler Morton back than sign Adam Wharton for £100m.” Another placed the blame squarely on Slot: “Slot is slowly killing us by letting young players leave. Look at Tyler Morton at Lyon.” A third asked when the manager would justify letting Morton go: “When will Arne Slot answer for letting Tyler Morton go and keeping Endo? Morton is a Gravenberch-type, 23, homegrown. Along with letting Luis Diaz leave, I don’t understand this decision.”
On X, some fans were blunt: “Liverpool have messed up big time,” while others warned about the Wharton pursuit: “This isn’t ideal. We had Tyler Morton with the same profile but let him go to sign another for £100m. FSG isn’t serious.”
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