Liverpool are not the only team embroiled in a fight for Champions League qualification next season.

Across the channel, Olympique Lyonnais sit third in Ligue 1 harbour their own ambitions of reaching Europe’s elite competition — and Liverpool’s former midfielder Tyler Morton is central to their hopes.

Morton left Anfield last summer in a deal that could rise to around £15million after a season spent on the fringes and he has not looked back. The 23-year-old knew that a fresh start was his best chance of regular game time after making just five appearances last season, three of which were starts, with his last coming on January 29, 2025 against PSV in the Champions League group phase.

His half-hour cameo in a dead rubber was very different to his previous appearance in the competition four years earlier, when he started at the San Siro against Milan. Under Jurgen Klopp, Morton, who joined Liverpool aged five, announced himself as one of the club’s brightest academy prospects, making nine appearances in the 2021-22 campaign.

Successful loan moves to Blackburn Rovers and Hull City in back-to-back seasons were crucial for his development and prepared him for the next step.

He had been on a golf course in the summer of 2024 when he received a phone call from then Bayer Leverkusen manager Xabi Alonso about joining the reigning Bundesliga champions. A move never materialised as Liverpool wanted to keep the midfielder as cover — a frustrating moment but it at least underlined how his reputation was burgeoning.

After waiting for an opportunity that never came under Arne Slot, Morton has now taken his game to the next level at Lyon.

The French side were in a tough situation when Morton arrived. They had been due to start the upcoming season in Ligue 2 after being relegated due to financial problems. The decision was overturned on appeal, but with spending constrained, head coach Paulo Fonseca had to get creative in overhauling the squad.

The Portuguese installed Morton as his No 6 and gave him the freedom to play. It is the role that the England youth international enjoys the most as he can control the tempo of games and dictate play with his impressive passing range.

Morton’s pizza chart illustrates the variety of qualities he brings to the role and why he has been such a success in a new league while adapting to a new language and culture.

Somewhat surprisingly, given his position, Morton’s link-up play is low (rated 26 out of 99) but that is because of his intent to always try and play progressively, whether through passing (66 out of 99) or by carrying the ball himself (92 out of 99).

This example, in Lyon’s victory over Metz in August, was an early example of both. Morton initially drove forward into the opposition’s half, before exchanging passes with his teammates and playing a disguised line-breaking pass into Pavel Sulc to create a shooting opportunity.

Changing the pace and direction of the attack via line-breaking passes is one of Morton’s specialities. Another example came against Red Bull Salzburg when he found Enzo Malebe instead of playing the easier pass out wide, opening up the attack.

Morton is not the most active defensively, but he is aggressive and strong in the challenge, which nearly led to a goal against RC Lens.

The England youth international’s change in fortunes began as part of the England Under-21 squad that won the European Championship last summer. The midfielder featured in five of England’s six games, starting the quarter-final alongside Bournemouth’s Alex Scott, who is enjoying his own impressive campaign under Andoni Iraola. The pair have become good friends.

“I think it was a great decision for him (to move) — he is smashing it at the minute,” Scott told The Athletic. “He’s an unbelievable player. I think Liverpool fans saw that years ago when he was bossing it at the San Siro. He didn’t really get his opportunity last year. Obviously, it was tough in a team that was doing so well going for the league.

“In his head, I think it was time to move on and play first-team football. He was playing a lot of 21s football as well, but a player of his standard needs to be playing week in, week out, for one of the top teams in the world. I speak to him quite a lot, he is an unbelievable guy. I’m so, so happy that he’s doing so well.“

With the exception of a red card against Marseille in his fourth appearance, very little else has gone wrong for Morton this season. He has featured in 26 of Lyon’s 30 league games, missing three through suspensions and one through injury.

Morton has never been shy of offering for the ball and, using data from Gradient Sports, the graphic below shows that he is one of the best in the French league in retaining possession when under pressure.

His passing range helps, as does his composure, but so does the relationship he has developed with Ainsley Maitland-Niles. The former Arsenal player acts as a pressure release valve from right-back.

Give Morton time on the ball and he will hurt you too. He is an expert at switching play and frequently links up with Maitland-Niles via a sweeping long pass.

His primary role is to keep circulating possession from left to right when Lyon have the ball, as he tries to build attacks from deep.

The graphic below shows Morton’s most common passes ordered by frequency and highlights how he often moves the ball into wide areas, underpinning the switches and medium-length passes he plays.

Morton is not required to be his team’s primary creator. He has scored two goals and provided three assists and has the freedom to move into the box when the situation allows, just as he did when scoring his first goal for the club.

One of the passes that he has used effectively is the through ball slid inside the opposition full-back, which he consistently weights perfectly.

He released Malick Fofana to score against Go Ahead Eagles in the Europa League…

… and supplied the pre-assist for Corentin Tolisso’s goal against Metz.

This is not to suggest that Liverpool made a mistake in allowing Morton to leave. As with Jarell Quansah and Harvey Elliott, he was at an age where he wanted regular game time. All three would have remained fringe players at Anfield, although given the form of some first-choice stars this season, there may have been more opportunities than expected.

Liverpool, however, is Morton’s past and Lyon is his present and future.

Fonseca’s side are third, the last remaining automatic Champions League qualification place (fourth ensures a playoff place), and level on 57 points with Lille. The clubs have the same goal difference, but Lyon lead the head-to-head with two victories over Bruno Genesio’s side. Below them, Rennes (56 points), Marseille (53pts) and Monaco (51pts) are all hoping for others to stumble in the closing weeks.

Lyon’s game with Rennes on Sunday could be decisive, but their other two games — Toulouse away and Lens at home — are equally demanding. Morton will be essential to realising that Champions League dream and, who knows, maybe a reunion with his former club in the competition next season.