Liverpool players heard likening ‘outstanding’ young midfielder to Xabi Alonso during training

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Liverpool players looked in good spirits as they geared up to take on Aston Villa on Saturday evening.

The Reds have been in terrific form of late, navigating a difficult fixture list with consummate ease to sit top of the Premier League and Champions League.

Villa will no doubt be a test for Arne Slot’s men, but as his players convened at the Liverpool training ground on Friday, they looked ready to pick up another massive three points.

16-year-old Rio Ngumoha was surprisingly spotted training with the first-team as Slot explores the depth of his forward options.

Meanwhile, three days on from facing former Reds midfielder Xabi Alonso in the Champions League, the Liverpool squad appear to have given a new nickname to one midfielder.

With Alonso very much a hot topic on Merseyside this week, young Tyler Morton appears to be picking up some very favourable comparisons with the Spain legend.

Tyler Morton earns Xabi Alonso nickname

Morton has had a difficult season for Liverpool so far. The 22-year-old has made only two appearances, both in the Carabao Cup.

For a player who has already played more than 100 senior games for Liverpool and out on-loan, that must be frustrating.

Of course, had things turned out differently, Morton could have been playing under Alonso this term.

The 42-year-old reportedly attempted to try and sign the Liverpool academy graduate for Bayer Leverkusen over the summer.

READ MORE: Three Liverpool players who need to go out on-loan in January

But having stayed put at his boyhood club, Morton is now drawing comparisons with Alonso.

As seen in the latest edition of LFCTV’s ‘Inside Training‘ series, the midfielder is spotted preparing to take part in a shooting drill on Friday.

“Come on Xabi Alonso!” somebody – who sounds suspiciously like Cody Gakpo – shouts. Another voice seemingly bellows out Alonso’s name as Morton’s shot crashes off the bar.

Is Tyler Morton in Arne Slot’s plans?

Although Morton clearly has a long way to go to truly earn these kinds of comparisons, you can see similarities between he and Alonso.

Both are – or were – exceptionally calm on the ball, have an eye for a pass and are technically very sound. Morton was deemed ‘outstanding’ while on-loan at Hull City last season and there is a talent in there.

In our opinion Morton deserves a far bigger role than he’s had under Slot and there’s an argument that his skillset is much more suited to what the Liverpool head coach wants than Wataru Endo, for example.

Nevertheless, now 22, Morton needs to ideally be playing regularly. As that’s unlikely to come at Liverpool, it seems very possible that he’ll be on the market once more in January.

As the Reds search for the right sitting midfielder, they would have loved to have had Alonso in this team. He may not be the second coming, but Slot should think carefully before discarding Morton.