Curtis Jones will be in the side that faces Arsenal tonight in the EFL Cup tie at Anfield, but really, the Scouser has his sights set on Jurgen Klopp’s first-team.
Every time the 19-year-old features, he does better and better – and his last outing v Lincoln was especially impressive – with two goals and a marauding midfield performance noticed by Reds everywhere.
Liverpool currently have a plethora of midfield options, but the fact Jones has not been sent on loan and came off the bench v Leeds on Opening Day proves how keen on him Jurgen Klopp and Pep Lijnders really are.
“I think for a player like me around the team I get to see how, I won’t say the ‘main’ team, but the boys that start play and prepare and train and stuff,” Jones told the official website. “I try to take that and put that in my game and go and try to do the same and try to give the manager what he wants to see from me and the rest of the team that are playing. That’s what I try to do and I’ll continue to do that.
“I’m laidback and I’m confident but I always know that it’s a bigger step coming from the Academy to the first team and when I’m going from playing against Lincoln to playing against Arsenal. So I always know that the step is different but I’ll always try to play my same game and stay as calm as I can be. As I said before, the manager and his staff have belief in me and I know that so I just go out there and enjoy myself and try to be me and be the player that I am, and show everybody at the club and the fans around the world the player that I am and the player that I can become.”
Jones massively excites us – and the way Lijnders spoke about him yesterday in the press-conference enhances this.
The assistant manager referred to Jones as the most offensive midfielder in the squad – and he’s right.
The teenager loves bursting into the box, has a terrific curling shot on him and has complete and utter belief in his own ability.
No Red would back against him finding the net again, in fact – given he already has four senior goals to his name.