Nat Philips and Tyler Morton are two of the players who have benefited from going on loan this season. Phillips was allowed to play regularly for Cardiff in the Championship after an unsuccessful spell at Celtic in the autumn, while Morton has played regularly for Hull all season.
For Phillips, it was the first time in two years that he was able to play regular senior football.
– It was good to be able to play games regularly again, so I can’t complain. I went to Celtic, where for various reasons it didn’t work out. So it was important that I got to play regularly at my next club, and I did that in Cardiff. I have played almost every single minute of every match, says the 27-year-old to LFCTV.
Morton, for his part, has put behind him his second straight season in midfield in the Championship, having played for Blackburn last year and Hull this season.
– It takes some time to go straight from academy football to the Championship. It’s like a completely different sport. But I have developed enormously, and the foundations have now been laid for the future, says the 21-year-old midfielder.
Tough league
Morton, who got to show off for Liverpool in the 2021/22 season, probably still has hopes of establishing himself for the Reds. Phillips is probably looking to find a new employer. At the age of 27, there is hardly room to develop further and play his way into Liverpool’s central defence, as he did when there was an injury crisis three years ago.
Perhaps the future lies in the Championship, where there are plenty of challenges to be found in the form of a physically tough league. Morton says it’s a league where you meet a lot of experienced players, and where you can’t hide, and Phillips agrees.
– You have to adapt, otherwise it is impossible to survive. I have been asked to do different things by different managers. In Liverpool, there is high pressure and playing out from the back. In Cardiff we vary more. Sometimes we press high, other times we let the opponent have the ball and try to counter. You can’t just have one plan, he says.
Cardiff got a boost with Phillips in the team and ended the season in twelfth place, while Hull finished seventh and ended up just behind a playoff place. Hull also improved in the second half of the season, when Fabio Carvalho arrived on loan from Liverpool.
– He has been very good. He came in and was well liked from day one because he is such a nice person. He has also shown himself on the field, says Morton about his team-mate.
Don’t know what the future holds
The 21-year-old himself finished with 39 games from the start and eight goal points. For Blackburn last year, there were 40 games and two goal points.
– It has been a great season both for me personally and for Hull. People say we have overachieved, but I believe we have delivered as we should in terms of the players and the support apparatus, says Morton.
Coach Liam Rosenior was surprisingly fired after the good season, but that probably won’t mean much for Morton, who is surely looking towards a bright future. But right now the most important thing is to get some rest.
– I don’t look too far into the future. It has been a good season, but now it will be a good holiday, says Morton.
Neither Phillips knows what the future holds.
– It’s easy to worry unnecessarily when you look towards summer, but you don’t have control over everything yourself. The plan is to return to the season run-up and take it from there, he says.
