Liverpool’s Tyler Morton has perfectly summed up how the players have taken to Arne Slot‘s style, saying “if you don’t love it, you shouldn’t be a footballer really!”
Morton has rejoined the first-team squad for pre-season after a campaign on loan at Hull last time out, and has featured regularly so far.
While his future is under question amid interest from the likes of RB Leipzig and Atalanta, his proximity to the senior setup is illuminating.
Speaking to LFCTV after the Reds beat Arsenal in Philadelphia, Morton gave his insight into the start of Slot’s era as head coach at Anfield.
“The style the gaffer is implementing is working and I think it worked today,” the 21-year-old explained.
“You can see it’s starting to click already and that’s a big compliment to the management team.”
Morton added: “He loves Total Football. He’s come in and it’s a style a lot of players love.
“If you don’t love the style he plays, you shouldn’t be a footballer really!
“It’s Total Football and it’s every midfielder’s dream. You could see it today in the triangles that were played; he’s big on triangles and they were [working] today.”
There has been a big shift in emphasis towards the midfield under Slot, with Curtis Jones giving perhaps the first explanation in an eye-opening press conference before the victory over Real Betis.
“The centre-mids were always lads who were runners and more disciplined,” Jones told journalists in Pittsburgh.
“The principles are the same, but I feel that now the centre-mids are going to be more the heart of the team.”
Speaking after the win over Arsenal, Fabio Carvalho gave a similar assessment when asked about the changes in style he has noticed after Jurgen Klopp‘s exit.
“I’d probably say playing more through the midfield. Players like Curtis, Harvey and Szobo as well – we’ve got the players to do so,” he told LFCTV.
“Playing through them and getting me, Mo and the players higher up like Jots on the ball as well.
“Being able to play through the thirds is what we want to do and what the manager wants to be our identity.”
While ‘Total Football’ may have been seen as a lazy comparison before his arrival given Slot’s Dutch heritage, he himself has told his players to “kill them with passes.”
That is music to the ears of his midfielders, and thankfully Liverpool have an exceptional bank of talent in the middle of the park.
Whether Morton earns a place among that group for the season proper remains to be seen, with the club valuing the academy graduate at £20 million.
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