French media all rave over 'pop star' Slot binned this summer amid stunning 'prime Casemiro' claim

Liverpool manager Arne Slot has been told he may have been too hasty in his decision to offload Tyler Morton this summer, with the French media frothing at the mouth over the impact the 22-year-old has made in France and after scoring his first Lyon goal this weekend.

It was a historic summer at Anfield as Slot and sporting director Richard Hughes embarked on an incredible spending spree that saw a whopping £440m ((€505m, $600m) splashed out on some quality new signings. And while Liverpool did manage to claw back a vast amount in player sales, the Reds are now many people’s favourites to retain the Premier League title they won with such ease in the Dutchman’s first season at the helm.

Of the players they sold, it was the likes of Luis Diaz (€70m to Bayern Munich), Darwin Nunez (€53m to Al-Hilal) and Jarell Quansah (€35m to Bayer Leverkusen) that drew the most attention and raised the most funds.

Right down that list, however, was the sale of Morton to Lyon, with the 22-year-old homegrown midfielder sold to Ligue 1 side Lyon, for a very modest €10m (£8.6m, $11.5m) fee.

The move went more than a little under the radar and hardly took any column inches in anything other than the local Merseyside press.

However, the tidy and combative England Under-21s midfielder has quickly hit the ground running in France, and he has featured five times already for Lyon, who are now second in Ligue 1 after a battling 1-0 triumph at Lille on Sunday.

Scorer of that decisive goal was Morton and a number of French journalists have marvelled over the 22-year-old’s display, suggesting Slot may have been too quick to cast the Wirral-born star aside.

The plaudits were led by L’Equipe’s Arnaud Hermant, who admitted he did not know much about the former Hull and Blackburn loanee when he arrived.

“I didn’t know Morton and I like him a lot,” Hermant told L’Equipe du soir. “Because I think he is a star-in-the-making. A pop star or English pop rock. There was a slip-up [red card] at Rennes but otherwise I think he’s very intelligent in what he does, as well as in his movements, he’s technically fine, the goal puts it in well, he makes passes. For me, he’s a really good player.”

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Liverpool old boy Morton compared to a prime Casemiro

Hermaut’s colleague insists Morton has to be praised for his ability to quickly embed himself into the team and finding his feet in French football.

“Morton was the one who was really at the end of the bench when they weren’t ready, and like that, when he played, everything you didn’t see knowing if it’s true that it’s another context, but even with the English hopefuls [u21s] he didn’t have that effect,” the pundit said in reply.

“And when I saw Lyon, then obviously I said to myself, they took a good player, but also quickly he has taken the technical keys we will say of this team. It’s true that he shines, he is quite solar, and I find in his style, I didn’t expect it to be so strong.”

Morton clocked up just 14 appearances for Liverpool during his time at Anfield, with five of those coming under Slot last season. However, he did not appear for a single minute across the Premier League title-winning campaign, while he only amassed 351 minutes across cup competitions under the Dutchman.

The midfielder has already surpassed that total for Lyon since he arrived at the Parc Olympique Lyonnais, vindicating his decision to move to France.

With Morton’s goal catching the eye for Lyon and understandably grabbing the headline, Sky Sports Switzerland, which covers Ligue 1, have also raved about Morton’s performance with journalist Victor Lefaucheux comparing the 13-times capped England Under-21s midfielder to a five-time Champions League winner, Casemiro.

“Morton is truly THAT unmanageable Caucasian troubadour, sometimes inspired, and terribly endearing,” Lefaucheux flamboyantly described Morton on X.

“Exceptional in the Casemiro role today, but obviously not immune to a blunder. Undoubtedly horrible stress for [manager, Paulo] Fonseca.”

Latest Liverpool news: Slot’s four-player wishlist; Neville in title U-turn

With the Morton money in the bank, Liverpool are making plans to sign not one, but TWO new defenders in the 2026 transfer windows, with sources revealing to TEAMtalk which player is at the very top of Slot and sporting director Richard Hughes’ wishlist.

It’s not just in defence that the Reds are keen to strengthen, either, with reports also suggesting that Liverpool are one of five Premier League clubs keen on signing an exciting Genk talent, who has been described as a Greek God and is also noted for his flair, creativity, and potential.

Elsewhere, with Liverpool sticking licking their wounds after the disappointment of Saturday afternoon’s last-gasp 2-1 loss at Crystal Palace , the club’s first defeat of the season, Gary Neville has performed something of a title race U-turn and named the club he thinks have “the best squad in the Premier League”.

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