One Liverpool youngster received a brief yet significant compliment from a teammate during the Reds’ training session on Friday.
The Reds are gearing up to take on Aston Villa in the Premier League at Anfield tonight, and ahead of that fixture, LFC’s social media team shared footage of Arne Slot’s squad being put through their paces in Kirkby.
Tyler Morton was among those who partook in the session, and while the midfielder’s only senior action this season has come in the Carabao Cup, he’s evidently held in very high regard among his peers.
Morton impresses in Liverpool training
One clip from the latest instalent of Inside Training on Liverpool FC’s official YouTube channel shows the players undergoing a shooting exercise, with Morton’s efforts caught on camera.
As the 22-year-old took possession of the ball and neatly brought it under control before turning sharply and firing a shot off the crossbar, one of his teammates (seemingly Cody Gakpo) was heard saying off-camera: “Go on, Xabi Alonso!”
Can Morton replicate Alonso’s impact at Liverpool?
For Morton to be compared to the ex-Liverpool and Spain midfielder, no matter how tongue-it-cheek the reference might be, is nonetheless a massive compliment which must’ve had the youngster floating with delight.
The 22-year-old is still waiting for a sustained breakthrough at Anfield, although he served a reminder of his talents with a tremendous performance in the recent Carabao Cup win over Brighton on his only senior start of the campaign so far.
While the current Reds player’s sample size is still limited, there have been echoes of Alonso in his performances on Merseyside in terms of his calmness in possession, his vision to pick out an excellent pass and his overall technical ability.
When the current Bayer Leverkusen boss joined Liverpool in 2004, he was the same age then that Morton is now, so the latter will be determined to finally impose himself as an undisputed first-team player with LFC this season. He certainly appears to have the backing of his teammates, judging by this latest training ground clip.
You can view Morton’s Alonso comparison below (from 8:22), via Liverpool FC on YouTube:
