It took Tyler Morton just over half an hour to make his first real impact at Blackburn, with the Liverpool loanee catching the eye in his maiden start.
Morton has embarked on the first loan move of his young career, and finds himself in a promising environment under Jon Dahl Tomasson at Blackburn.
He has joined a depleted squad and, like Harvey Elliott before him, appears set for a key role at Ewood Park as he looks to boost his chances of a long-term future with Liverpool.
After coming off the bench for the final seconds of a 3-0 win at Swansea at the weekend, Morton was handed his first start as Blackburn took on Hartlepool in the League Cup first round.
Wearing the No. 6 shirt, he partnered fellow teenager Adam Wharton in a two-man midfield, with the average age of Tomasson’s starting lineup only 21.6.
Up against League Two opposition, Blackburn were expected to win, and Morton helped them on their way with his first assist for the club in the 32nd minute.
Standing on corner duties for the tie, the 19-year-old lofted in a perfect cross at the near post to allow Scott Wharton to head home and make it 1-0.
Further goals from Bradley Dack, Tyrhys Dolan and Dilan Markanday sealed a comfortable victory for Rovers, who are now due to visit Bradford City in the second round.
It was a positive full debut for Morton, who earned praise from Blackburn supporters for his performance on Wednesday:
You’d be right to point out the quality of opposition when making this point, but there was a nice synchronisation to a lot of Rovers build up play tonight – crisp, one touch passing and fast movement.
Adam Wharton excellent, Tyler Morton held it together, Dack is, well, Dack.
— Mike Delap ?? (@MikeyDelap) August 10, 2022
For everyone asking ,Tyler Morton played great. He was the MoM for me. Industrious, clever, hardly put a foot wrong. Please can we keep him.
— Mullen Void (@MullenVoid) August 10, 2022
Wharton’s younger brother Adam and @LFC loanee Tyler Morton have been very impressive on their full debuts. Morton took the corner from which Wharton senior scored, has been calm in possession and robust in the tackle when required
— Steven Wyeth (@stevenwyeth) August 10, 2022
Adam Wharton, John Buckley and Tyler Morton will be the next Xavi, Iniesta and Busquets I’m convinced
— Jack?? (@JE22_JCK) August 10, 2022
The teenager will now be hoping he has done enough to keep his place when more senior faces return for the visit of West Brom on Saturday in the Championship.
John Buckley and Lewis Travis were the preferred pairing against Swansea, though, with Morton needing to shift the captain and another impressive young talent if he is to do so.
