Liverpool used Curtis Jones as a midfielder last season, but his only minutes so far this season have come in the front three. That could be the way forward for Jürgen Klopp.
Last season was a good one for Liverpool youngster Curtis Jones, who became a regular under Jürgen Klopp.
While he didn’t play quite as much as he might have hoped in the second half of the campaign, he well exceeded the number of minutes he was expected to the previous summer.
By Christmas, Jones had moved past Adam Lallana’s number of minutes for the previous season — the man whose role he was meant to be taking on that campaign.
Jones ended the season with 33 senior appearances in all, and four goals and five assists to show for it, but that, of course, was in a much more withdrawn role than the one he had been used to playing in.
With the departure of Gini Wijnaldum perhaps in mind, Klopp and Pep Lijnders converted Jones into a number eight as much focused on defending as marauding forward — a strange move, on paper, for a player who was so impressive further forward only the season before.
There can be little doubt, though, that the switch worked: Jones played far more than he might have imagined, and still managed decent numbers, certainly relative to most midfielders during Klopp’s tenure at Anfield.
Fast-forward to this season and Jones has only played 19 minutes so far, although, of course, it is still very early days.
He was unavailable through concussion protocols for the opening game of the season at Norwich, though whether he would have featured anyway given all the options available is unlikely.
However, over the next few weeks, the number of games that Liverpool play mean that changes — just like the four last night — will be needed to keep everyone fresh, and regular rotation will be crucial.
In the game with AC Milan, Jones came onto the field on the left-hand side of Liverpool’s front three, with Roberto Firmino injured, Takumi Minamino only just back from his own issue, and Divock Origi having started out of the blue.
While it has been a while since he was seen in that area of the field for Liverpool’s senior team, this is, of course, nothing new.
In 2019/20, across both youth football and senior football, Jones scored 17 goals and assisted another seven across 31 appearances, adding numbers to his game for the first time while playing that freer, more attacking role.
With each of his seasons as he edged closer to becoming a senior player at Anfield as he is now, different things were requested by the Liverpool coaching staff.
First, it was greater leadership, with Jones taking on the captaincy of Liverpool’s U23s. That box ticked, it was then adding more numbers to his game in terms of goals and assists.
Two big elements to check off, both ticked off the list emphatically.
That he was then taken out of that advanced, goalscoring role, then, seemed a little counterintuitive. Of course, Liverpool needed a Wijnaldum successor and Jones has all the tools, perhaps with an added goal threat from deep.
But now, with more options in the midfield area for Klopp to pick from and Jones having not yet had a sniff there, it might make sense to do another reversal.
Midfield might ultimately be the long-term role he fulfils, but Jones looked far more at home on the left-hand side against AC Milan than he has in the centre of the pitch.
Whenever he got the ball, he was quick, direct and intelligent, and should a gap open up in the front three — not least while Firmino remains sidelined, but even once the Brazilian returns too — having Jones in that role could become the norm again.
“There is a lot to come from Curtis,” Liverpool boss Klopp said in March. “The potential is exceptional.”
That much, at least, is absolutely clear, and the numbers — a goal or assist every 92 minutes (Mohamed Salah’s average, for a basic comparison, was every 113 minutes last season) — from the last time he played on the left for a sustained spell show he is well capable of that.
Playing him there again is certainly not out of the question — in fact, it might even be his best role — and it might well be something to watch out for over the course of next few months.
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