Hull Daily Mail

Fabio has been brilliant for City

MORTON’S PRAISE FOR ON-LOAN TIGER

- By BARRY COOPER barry.cooper@reachplc.com @bazdjcoope­r

Tyler Morton has heaped praise on Fabio Carvalho’s impact at Hull City after the pair returned to Liverpool following the end of the regular Championsh­ip season.

The curtain came down on City’s campaign in desperate fashion with the Tigers losing 1-0 at Plymouth Argyle, while West

Brom’s 3-0 win over Preston ensured the Baggies beat off competitio­n for a play-off place.

That defeat, coupled with difference­s off the pitch between Liam Rosenior and owner Acun Ilicali, saw the Tigers’ head coach sacked on Tuesday which will see significan­t change at the MKM Stadium over the summer.

Carvalho and Morton were two of six players on loan at the MKM Stadium, along with Liam Delap, Noah Ohio, Anass Zaroury and Ryan Giles, all of whom have since returned to their parent clubs, aside from Giles who is expected to see his £4m move from Luton Town completed this summer.

Morton impressed at the base of Rosenior’s midfield after arriving on deadline day last summer, playing 39 times with the majority of those coming alongside AFCON winner Jean Michael Seri, while Carvalho, who joined in January, bagged nine goals in 20 Championsh­ip outings.

“He’s been brilliant, Fabio,” Morton told Liverpool’s official website. “He came in and everyone loved him from day one, because he’s such a nice lad, such a mature lad. He’s got on with everyone at the club and I feel like he’s really shone and shown his ability.

“I feel like we had a lot of pressure put on us, to be honest, with the signings we made in the summer and in January. We had a lot of top talent, obviously Fabio came in and had a lot of weight on his shoulders. That can obviously go either way and I feel that we went in a really good direction.”

On his own developmen­t, Morton, who spent the previous season on loan in the Championsh­ip with Blackburn Rovers, admits playing so regularly for City has made a big difference.

“It takes time to get used to it, coming from academy football straight to the Championsh­ip. It’s like a whole different sport in my opinion. You’re playing against players who will smash you off the ball, you don’t get that in academy football! But it’s developed my game massively and puts you in good stead for what you want in the future. There is a lot of experience, especially in that midfield area. I feel like a lot of the players I come up against are proper profession­als and people who have played for years and years in the Championsh­ip and the Premier League, so you have to be a bit smarter. Especially being not the biggest and not the strongest, I have to use my brain a bit more to be quicker and cleverer than my opponent. It’s understand­ing timing, really, and using your body, stuff like that.”

Morton has previously spoken about the need to be realistic about his expectatio­ns of the future on Merseyside but says for now, the break will be welcome before he returns to Liverpool for pre-season under a new manager.

 ?? ALAN WALTER/REX/ SHUTTERSTO­CK ?? Tyler Morton waits to take a free-kick with Fabio Carvalho (right) and Jean Michael Seri
ALAN WALTER/REX/ SHUTTERSTO­CK Tyler Morton waits to take a free-kick with Fabio Carvalho (right) and Jean Michael Seri

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