Tyler Morton was the subject of January transfer interest. But the midfielder has remained at Liverpool, and the club has now made an injury decision.

Ever since last summer, a departure for Morton has appeared on the cards. He returned from an impressive loan spell with Hull City boasting suitors including Xabi Alonso's Bayer Leverkusen, but Richard Hughes turned down loan interest in the hope of a permanent offer in the region of $25m (£20m).

That did not arrive, and attention turned to whether Morton could force his way into Arne Slot's plans, having first made a breakthrough under Jurgen Klopp. The collapse of a move for Martin Zubimendi appeared to enhance his chances.

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But that did not account for the meteoric rise of Ryan Gravenberch. His form has severely limited opportunities for Morton, who has had to settle for cup run-outs.

One of those came against Southampton in December. Morton played the full 90 minutes as Liverpool advanced to the Carabao Cup semi-finals, but picked up a shoulder injury in the process.

He has been managing that problem, and made a subsequent appearance against PSV in January, with Liverpool's progression in the Champions League already wrapped up. However, it now appears that this could prove to be his final game for the Reds.

That's because Liverpool has made the decision to operate on Morton's shoulder injury, now that it is known he will not be leaving Anfield during the winter. The timescale is expected to be somewhere in the region of three months, which could mean the 22-year-old misses the remainder of the campaign.

According to the Mail, Liverpool is said to have been "great" with Morton. The decision to address his shoulder injury with surgery has been taken in the expectation that he will depart the club permanently in the summer.

Whether Liverpool and Hughes will budge on the asking price remains to be seen. But Morton will not be short of suitors, even though he has been unable to really showcase his talents this season.

His prowess in the Championship remains fresh in the mind, not least among clubs still in the division. Middlesbrough made an attempt to sign Morton last month, but could not get close to Liverpool's demands.

And it would not be a surprise to see European clubs re-enter the chase too. Morton is an exceptional midfielder, and narrowly missing the grade at Anfield is far from a damning indictment.

During the January transfer window, Morton talked about perhaps needing to be "selfish" for the good of his career. In the end, he did not push a move through — but by taking the decision to send him for surgery, Liverpool has allowed the youngster to put his own needs first, setting him up to make a success of it away from the club in summer.