The combined effects of the Elite Player Performance Plan and the increasing polarisation of the money in the “beautiful game” has created a new genre of footballer - the “promising Premier League club academy prospect who needs first team experience”. 

The likes of Chelsea, Manchester City and Liverpool in particular have sought such experience for many of their youngest and brightest talents and have turned to the EFL with the aim of hot-housing talent to achieve a growth spurt. 

Rovers have seen the likes of Kasey Palmer (Chelsea), Taylor Harwood-Bellis and Tosin Adarabioyo (Man City) and more recently Harvey Elliott, Leighton Clarkson and Tyler Morton (Liverpool) all spend time in the Rovers first-team squads, albeit with varying degrees of success.

The Liverpool connection especially has proved busy in recent seasons. Allegedly Jurgen Klopp admired the style of Tony Mowbray’s side during a pre-season friendly and diplomatic accords soon followed.

Harvey Elliott delighted Rovers supporters via TV screens during the lockdown season with performances that were reminiscent of the precocious, young Damien Duff. His link-up play with Adam Armstrong proving to be mutually beneficial - Elliott returned to Anfield with a first-team pedigree whilst Armstrong earned a big money move to Southampton.

Leighton Clarkson, a boyhood Rovers supporter, arrived with high hopes and expectations, only for the move to fail singularly as Clarkson seemed unready both physically and technically for the rigours of the Championship. 

This season’s episode of “who is Jürgen going to send us?” pointed towards Sepp van Den Berg initially, but the roulette wheel eventually stopped on the name of Tyler Morton. The response of Rovers supporters was muted following the Clarkson experiment and so young Tyler arrived at Ewood with lower expectations than his talent perhaps deserved.

With a new manager at the helm nobody was quite sure how the team would line up and what role if any, the lad from Wallasey would or should play. As Rovers academy is one of the brighter lights of the tainted Venky’s era. there is a strong argument to say that preference should be given to our own academy products. Why develop talent for other clubs ? 

The answer to that perfectly reasonable question lies in the hands of the manager and the recruitment head who clearly believed that the likes of Adam Wharton, Jared Harlock and Luke Garrett weren’t quite ready.

Morton made an early start away to Bradford in the Carabao Cup where he featured at centre-back and impressed with a calm, assured performance. His league performances have all been in his accustomed midfield role where he has slowly but surely settled in and looks to be blossoming alongside Rovers skipper Lewis Travis, himself a former Liverpool academy prospect of course.

Morton’s evolution into this Rovers midfield mainstay has been impressive and his range of passing, vision and technique brings to mind the style of one of the Rovers all-time greats, the legend that is Tugay. Let’s try to manage the accusations of hyperbole here; Morton has some way to go to reach the heights of the Turkish maestro’s capabilities at the very highest levels but the raw ingredients seem present in abundance.

What is noticeable is his willingness to receive the ball under pressure and not be fazed by opposition bearing down on him. Invariably he can thread a pass and find a teammate in the most pressured of situations. He clearly has the confidence of his colleagues and the manager, taking many of the set-pieces around the opposition penalty area and his delivery is invariably accurate. 

At this stage, Morton has displaced the local hero (John Buckley) and looks every inch worth his place. His crowning performance to date coming last Saturday against Rotherham at Ewood where the combination of industry, energy and creativity rightly earned him Man Of The Match plaudits. 

In keeping with the Jekyll & Hyde nature of the team, Morton then of course decided to drop a major clanger away at Wigan. What was encouraging was that he kept at it and didn’t shun possession, but let’s hope for all of our sakes that it was an isolated example of sloppiness.

Is there any chance of signing him permanently asked one fan on the BRFCS.com forum…well as the old joke has it; two chances, slim and none, and slim just left town. The days of Rovers signing high-class talent from Liverpool such as Speedie, Friedel and Warnock are long gone. The conveyor belt of talent arriving on loan though may well be enhanced following the positive impact of first Elliott & now Morton.