The newest Liverpool.com Scouted Weekly names a Championship starlet who could immediately replace Wataru Endo, and then looks at Fabian Hurzelar's in-form Brighton side

Liverpool haven't signed a player directly from the Championship since Fabio Carvalho joined the Reds on a free transfer in the summer of 2022. Outside of an early winner against Newcastle, the Portuguese international never kicked on and was eventually sold for a tidy fee to Brentford.

Andoni Iraola's side doesn't have enough bodies in midfield, and while the club is linked with a big-money move for Lamine Camara, a cheaper option could be considered in January to get the team through the end of the campaign.

This edition of Liverpool.com's Scouted Weekly looks at a Championship center midfielder — Middlesbrough's Aidan Morris — who could make a difference, and also looks at what will make Brighton such a fearsome opponent on Sunday.

Aiden Morris for Liverpool

The 25-year-old US international Morris was playing in the MLS 30 months ago; now, he's arguably the best box-to-box midfielder in the Championship.

The Middlesbrough man played next to Hayden Hackney, now at Everton, and partners Sebastian Berhalter this season. While his American teammate is the key pass-and-dead-ball specialist, Morris does... everything else.

His 3.6 tackles per game is the best in the division. Morris's 69.7 completed passes per contest trails only teammate Adilson Malanda, and he's one of two midfielder over 50 a game (with a 91.71% completion percentage, to boot). Morris wins six duels per game and scored his second goal of the season on Friday in a 4-1 win against Bolton.

The downsides? He's 5-foot-8 and at 25, likely is a finished product. But Morris, bought for under 5 million, would likely go for between 10 and 20 million.

Morris is the ideal replacement for Wataru Endo, who was a Jurgen Klopp favorite. The Japanese international hasn't been able to stay healthy for years and will all but certainly leave Liverpool this summer.

As a squad depth piece, why not give the young American a look? This is, if title-chasing Middlesbrough will sell him. He profiles awfully similar to Endo.

Brighton red hot

Uh oh: Brighton, Liverpool's next Premier League opponents, has found a nearly unchanged starting XI. The Seagulls, big spenders in the recent season after a slew of sales, have one of the biggest squads in the Premier League.

Third-year coach Fabian Hurzeler has fielded a virtually unchanged starting XI in three straight league matches, all wins, while toggling midweek in the UEFA Conference League.

The lineup — GK: Bart Verbruggen, DEF (left to right): Oscar Boscagli, Lewis Dunk, Lukas Vuksovic, Ferdi Kadioglu, DM: Chema Andres, Pascal Gross, AM/WING: Maxim De Cuyper, Yasin Ayari, Diego Gomez. ST: Charalampos Kostoulas (Dunk is in for the suspended Pascal Stujik).

Hurzeler has tinkered — Malick Yalcouye (attacking midfield), Mats Wieffer (out of position at right back), and Georginio Rutter (striker) have all gotten looks, while Ayari started the year playing deeper.

Brighton is third in the table and second in the xG table. The coach has turned his side into a pressing dynamo.

"As soon as the ball is played over you, Fabian really wants the strikers to come back and help out, and then all go in unison," former Brighton defender Adam Webster told the Athletic this week.

"It’s very man-focused, but at the same time, you’re not just worried about your man; you’re worried about helping your teammate out, and that’s huge when you’re trying to play man-to-man because there are times when you become so focused on your own man you won’t necessarily be in the right position to help your teammate."