GENIUS Richard Hughes deal will see Liverpool cash in on €10m academy star | OneFootball

Liverpool have made a good habit of turning youth and academy players into stars. In recent seasons we have seen the likes of Conor Bradley and Jarell Quansah become Premier League title winners.

They follow in the footsteps of more established first-team players such as Curtis Jones. Bradley has recently signed a new contract extension while Quansah moved to Bayer Leverkusen earlier this summer for around £30m.

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Those two pathways represent the different options the club can take with their academy crown jewels. Either they become good enough to hold down a place in the first-team squad or else they can be moved on for profit. 4

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In the case of Tyler Morton, he was sold to Lyon earlier this month for around €10m. If you think that sum is a little on the low side, remember that Liverpool have also inserted a 20 percent sell-on clause into the deal.

Morton inspires Lyon

It means that the club will have the chance to cash in once again should Lyon decide to sell on the 22-year-old. And the initial signs are promising.

Morton, an England under-21 international, has taken to life in Ligue 1 with relish. He was among his side’s best performers as they got their league campaign off to a winning start on Saturday night.

Cash-strapped Lyon beat Lens 1-0 away from home with Morton orchestrating affairs from his midfield station. Lyon’s new schemer completed 32 of his 42 attempted passes, made one key pass and won five of his 10 attempted ground duels according to OL Data.

Lyon will one day cash in on Morton

Those are very good numbers - particularly for a rookie in his debut outing for his new club. With Lyon’s finances looking precarious, the French club will no doubt have their eye on making a profit from the Morton deal a little further down the line.

It could be as soon as next summer - with clubs in the Bundesliga and back in England already coveting the Liverpool homegrown prospect.

And Lyon have a very good track record of selling players for decent fees.

Lyon's transfer track record

The likes of Tanguy Ndombele, Alexandre Lacazette, Ferland Mendy and Bradley Barcola have all banked the club big fees in the past.

This year they sold crown jewel Rayan Cherki to Manchester City - and they will be optimistic of bringing in decent money for Morton when the time comes.

And if the Englishman brings in around €40m, then Liverpool stand to practically double their initial money on him with around €8m due to head their way.

It’s never easy to say goodbye to a homegrown talent - particularly one as capable of Morton - but it looks like his exit will benefit Liverpool once again.

He was seen as a key part of Paulo Fonseca’s plans for the season - and Lyon’s decision to bring him on board is already paying off.