Ex-Liverpool man at forefront of Manchester United’s ‘Mission 21’ project to bring title back

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For five years, developed an ultra-disciplined ‘traffic light system’ which governed what Team Sky’s Tour de France winners were consuming at every hour of the day.

His methods have since been championed by nutritionists who are aware that relying on research showing that greatly reducing carbohydrate intake helps lead to improved long-term results.

"We therefore came up with that traffic-light system, where we would change the carb intake at breakfast, during cycling sessions or at lunch and dinner, depending on what today's session looked like and what tomorrow's was going to be, as well as the day after that," he previously explained to an episode of the 'Fuel the Pedal' podcast.

So the fuel for the work needs to be adjusted according to the intensity of the work, literally adjusting your carb intake on a daily basis, in line with the tasks you have scheduled.

They are now preparing a ‘Mission 21’ blueprint that they will present to senior staff at Carrington, and another matter is that they are leaving detailed catering arrangements to the club's nutritionists.

Instead, he has a wide-ranging strategic oversight responsibility at Ineos supporting Brailsford, with the pair also detailing a ‘Mission 1’ project to deliver a first Women's Super League championship to the women's team.

Newspaper, 'Mission 21' and 'Mission 1' fall under United's bigger 'Project 150' scheme, announced by chief executive, Omar Berrada, last autumn and linked to the club's 150th anniversary in 2028. Berrada, Jason Wilcox and Collette Roche are key people involved with Project 150.

Only a few details about Morton's position are known, but observations suggest he has been visiting Carrington multiple times over the past few months. His credentials include being a professor of exercise metabolism at Liverpool John Moores University, where he has written over 200 research papers linked to sports science and nutrition.

Morton was also at Liverpool between 2010 to 2015 as a performance nutritionist before the era of Jurgen Klopp. However, he has consistently stated that his methods have undergone significant development since he began working with Brailsford, initially as nutrition and physical performance lead for Team Sky between 2015 and 2019.

After overseeing nutrition strategy for five consecutive Tour de France victories, he moved into a senior overseeing position at Ineos Sport, where he has "led the development and implementation of the Ineos X programme that aims to share best practice and expertise on leadership, coaching and performance support across the Ineos Sport range".

Morton's "fuel for the work required" approach was reportedly a significant influence on Brailsford, as the team's continued success suggested.

As you deliberately reduce your carb intake and adapt it to the level of physical exertion required, a range of cellular processes come into play that influence how our muscles respond to exercise. It's this cumulative response to carbohydrate restriction, Morton explained, that ultimately triggers the relevant pathways.

It's much like by reducing the stress of the training session through decreasing the carbohydrate intake, the muscles actually adapt quicker and you receive a greater training response, regardless of the type of exercise performed.

As Brailsford heads the effort in implementing his famous "marginal gains" approach at Manchester United, Morton's detailed approach is cited by insiders at the club as an ideal fit.

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