Lyon are close to agreeing on a €17million deal with Liverpool to sign defensive midfielder Tyler Morton, according to The Times’ Paul Joyce.
The French club have shown strong interest in Morton, who is entering the final year of his contract with the Reds.
Liverpool appear open to selling the midfielder on a permanent basis.
Fabrizio Romano adds that negotiations between Liverpool and Lyon are in their final stages.
Morton was part of the England U21 squad that won the U21 European Championship this summer.
Lyon are actively seeking midfield reinforcements after selling Jordan Veretout to Al-Arabi and Jordan Lepenant to FC Nantes.
Lepenant, a France U21 international, was already loaned out to Nantes last season.
Manager Paulo Fonseca is keen to refresh his midfield options, especially with Nemanja Matic entering the final year of his contract and Corentin Tolisso set to turn 31 in the coming days.
Morton opened up about his frustration last season due to limited game time.
The 22-year-old struggled to secure a place in Arne Slot’s midfield, featuring in just five matches throughout the campaign.
“Definitely, I think it’s been the toughest season mentally for me,” he said.
“Obviously, I’ve coped with it very well because I’ve got good people around me, but it’s been very tough.
“When you’re not playing, your confidence sort of gets shut down a little bit so it’s nice to come back and play here (with England Under-21s). I think I’ve coped with it as well as I possibly could.
“I think when you’re not playing as a footballer who’s as hungry as I am, it does hurt.
“It’s tough, especially when, in my opinion, I wanted to go out and I wanted to play and I wanted to go on loan and get my game time.
“But having chatted with the manager, having to stay, it could have worked out a lot worse than it did. It probably could have worked out a lot better than it did.”
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