Tyler Morton is speaking slowly, out of habit.
Since making the ambitious move from Liverpool to what he describes as the ‘beautiful club’ Lyon, the midfielder has had to adjust his cadence as the locals just do not understand his Scouse twang.
‘Don’t even start,’ he says, laughing, when quizzed by Daily Mail Sport on how the French are adjusting to Morton’s accent.
‘I am speaking very slowly now as if I was talking to someone who was French. I have to change the speed in which I talk and alter my words so they can understand me. When I am at home in the Wirral it is nice because I can speak my way and be myself!
‘I did an interview at one game and it went badly. I spoke very fast and nobody understood me. The translator did not understand one word I said. But I really needed this, for me as a person to experience new cultures.’
The 23-year-old midfielder is right. After being on the verge of a potential move to Bayer Leverkusen, then managed by his idol Xabi Alonso, in the summer of 2024, Morton was asked to stay put and make up the numbers at Liverpool.
Tyler Morton came through the Liverpool ranks so it was tough to leave but he is enjoying life with Lyon. ‘It is a lovely place to live and play football,’ he says
Morton found his chances at Liverpool limited and did not get a single Premier League minute in their title-winning season
But he played just five times for the first team and did not get a single Premier League minute. It was bittersweet for Morton, whose season ended with him present for an Anfield title lift last summer before he led England to glory in the Under-21 Euros.
In many ways, he was living his dream playing for his boyhood club but the problem was that he wasn’t really doing that. So the Wallasey-born star, who made several appearances under Jurgen Klopp including a memorable one in San Siro against AC Milan, had no option but to say farewell to the club that had given him everything since he joined, turning down Everton at the time, aged seven.
‘Last year was amazing,’ he says. ‘As a fan of Liverpool and a boyhood Red, if I had told myself when I was younger that I would be part of a Premier League-winning team I would bite your hand off. I would do anything for that. It was incredible.
‘But also it was very frustrating, obviously. I wanted to win so much because it was my club, the club I love. I wanted to be a Liverpool player. So it was difficult when I realised I wanted and needed to leave.
‘I felt really ready to play for Liverpool. But there are different managers, different styles. Whatever he wants. Of course, playing behind the likes of Ryan (Gravenberch) and Dom (Szoboszlai) and Alexis (Mac Allister), all incredible footballers, so I appreciated that.
‘Now, though, at Lyon, I am loving it. Loving it. It is a lovely place to live and play football. I am just really enjoying playing games again. Last season, obviously, was difficult. This season is amazing to play in front of fans, especially these Lyon fans because they are so passionate.
‘It is a massive club with a lot of history. One I could not say no to. A nice warm place my family can call home. The football this manager [Paulo Fonseca] plays is the perfect style for me. It ticked lots of boxes. It was a big decision for me to leave home and what I know best, but I am well ready.’
He is certainly ready. Morton has been one of the best midfielders in Ligue 1 this season and has started every game apart from a couple he missed through suspension. Morton ranks highly for passes, ball retention and chance creation.
Morton celebrates winning the Under-21 Euros with England with his mates Jarell Quansah (centre) and Harvey Elliott (right) in the summer. ‘To be part of that side was the best feeling,’ Morton says. ‘I came away with so much confidence’
Jurgen Klopp gave Morton his debut at Liverpool and also played him in some Champions League matches including at San Siro against AC Milan
The midfielder, who enjoyed loan spells at Blackburn and Hull City before joining Lyon for around £15m in the summer, says he feels that stepping out of his comfort zone has helped him grow. ‘It is great for players my age to go out and experience different cultures, different countries, different people,’ he says.
‘My mate Jarell [Quansah at Bayer Leverkusen] is doing amazing after going abroad. Sometimes the answer is not staying in England and the Premier League, it is to go to a big club in a different country and learn a lot. I am definitely finding myself, I am really happy here.
‘My friends and the people I grew up with all understood I was ready to play for a big club. And they have been nothing but great for me. I have friends for life at Liverpool. I have grown up with Conor Bradley since I was 11 or 12, I have known Jarell since I was four or five.
‘And I am very, very close with Harvey (Elliott). They are my closest mates and I go and see them if I am at home. They watch my games when possible and it is lovely to get feedback from players who are playing at such a high level. It is amazing to have friends in football like that.
‘I won the U21s Euros with them. That was incredible. I loved it. To be part of that side was the best feeling, I came away with so much confidence. It was a priority to play and show the world what I can do. I am so grateful to manager Lee Carsley for taking me on the back of a tough season.’
Morton, like many his age around Merseyside, grew up idolising Steven Gerrard and Alonso – so it was a pinch-me moment when the now-Real Madrid boss was on the other end of a FaceTime call, then at Leverkusen, trying to sell the move to Germany to him.
‘I got to speak to Alonso on FaceTime which was amazing for me,’ he explains. ‘To speak to someone who you idolise so much when you are younger. I used to go to the park with my dad and just play long passes, trying to replicate what Xabi did on the pitch.
‘But it was up to Liverpool that I stayed. I did not get the game-time I thought I was going to get but it was an amazing season for the club. To be part of a team who won the Premier League, it was an incredible feeling. It developed me as a player, training with the best.’
Quansah, Conor Bradley, Morton and Elliott of Liverpool with the 2024/25 Premier League trophy. ‘I did not get the game-time I thought I was going to get,’ says Morton, ‘but it was an amazing season for the club. To be part of a team who won the Premier League was incredible’
‘It’s a beautiful city, Lyon, I would ask anyone to visit,’ says Morton of his new life in France
‘I have friends for life at Liverpool,’ says Morton of his time at Anfield
It has all worked out now. He is studying the likes of Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong and Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Vitinha in order to get better, and dreams of an England senior call-up – though he is not getting ahead of himself.
‘I’ve had no contact at the minute but I know the scouts are out watching,’ he says when asked about Thomas Tuchel. ‘I don’t think about it too much, I take everything in my stride. My first focus is to work as hard as possible at Lyon to be the best version of myself.’
The best version of Morton, it appears, is in Lyon – and he also adores the French way of life. ‘It’s very old-fashioned here,’ he says. ‘I was walking the other day and I saw a dance class in the middle of the street. It was unlike anything I’ve ever seen on Merseyside!
‘People are very in the moment. There are not many people on their phones, they live in the moment and enjoy it all. Me and my girlfriend try to take a bit of that, step out as much as possible. It’s a beautiful city, Lyon, I would ask anyone to visit.’
