Liverpool’s Boxing Day fixture against Leicester City marked the 100th appearance of Curtis Jones. In true Curtis Jones style he marked the occasion with a goal.
As we discuss the trajectory of Jones in this article we will see that his career is littered with many milestones and accompanied with contributions on those milestones.
Jones has established himself as an important squad player as Arne Slot’s men fight on all 4 fronts this season so far.
It is the quality of Jones that Slot is able to shuffle the pack and negotiate the hectic December fixture pileup. January will no doubt see the same with an FA Cup 3rd round tie and a 2-legged League Cup Semi Final on top of the usual league campaign to deal with.
One of their Own
Nothing pleases the fanbase more than to see one of their own playing for the club. With the future of Trent Alexander-Arnold still up in the air, Jones could be the sole Scouse representative within the team.
Jones has been at Liverpool since the age of 9 years old and has come through the ranks. Not only is he a Scouser born and bred in Toxteth he is a product of the youth academy.
He is in great company when it comes to local lads coming good such as Ian Callaghan, Jamie Carragher, Robbie Fowler, Steve McManaman and of course Steven Gerrard.
These players all came through the famous Liverpool Youth Academy. Jones also had the tutelage of Steven Gerrard as he played for him in the u18 section. Jones was able to use Gerrard as a mentor as he graduated into the senior team.
With Jones being a local lad and growing up as a Liverpool fan it adds to the narrative of his wonderful career so far.
His first senior goal came against bitter rivals Everton in the FA Cup in the 19/20 season. It is a solitary goal that sees the Reds progress to the next round and Everton dumped out of the cup.
This was at the ripe age of 18. Already expectations were being ramped up and comparisons were being made with his mentor, Gerrard.
His debut was made in the League Cup against MK Dons where Jones put in a Man of the Match performance to see Liverpool progress to the next round.
The next round awaited Arsenal. Again, Jones was involved where he dispatched the last and winning penalty. For most 18-year old's this would have been a bit too much too soon. Not for Jones. So confident and assured of himself, he coolly put away the penalty.
Working beyond the injury Struggles
From his promising start Jones’ career has been stop-start with niggling injuries. Just when you think he was going to push on and establish himself he would suffer another injury.
This is quite common in young players as they transition from boys to men. The body goes through many changes and therefore muscular injuries are a common occurrence. The same was seen with Gerrard as he broke into the team.
This season has seen a more mature Jones take the field. He has been able to establish himself as a squad player.
Jones was one of the standout players during preseason games. He indicated the difference between Slot and Klopp in terms of the playing style and how that suited himself.
Throughout this season we have seen a pattern of Jones swapping with Dominik Szoboszlai whether it be starting or as substitutions. This is allowing both players to get ample time on the pitch and also get the rest required to avoid injury.
Jones offers versatility on the pitch as he can operate as a Defensive Midfielder, Central Midfielder and even an Attacking Mid.
He is able to adapt his game to either keep possession or be that creative spark. This form has seen Jones get his first England start in November too. How did he mark the occasion? Yes, you guessed it, he got himself a goal.
Even off the pitch Jones' life is changing for the better. He became a father in October to a baby girl. This event has been attributed to the successful season so far for Jones.
At the age of 23 we still have the best to come from Jones. He is already a great servant for the club and if he remains at the club and continues to collect medals there is no doubt he will be a club legend too.