Jurgen Klopp has spoken previously about his Liverpool “dream”

Curtis Jones is the latest academy star to become a major part of Jurgen Klopp’s plans at Liverpool and his impressive performance against Porto will have done his ambitions no harm

Jurgen Klopp has spoken previously about his Liverpool “dream” that would see him have “a team full of ‘Scousers'”.

If that is to become a reality then having academy graduates starring in the first team is a must and luckily the Reds boss has that in increasing prevalence.

Trent Alexander-Arnold has been the biggest success story of his tenure thus far, with the 22-year-old now among the best right-backs in the world.

Curtis Jones is looking to follow in those footsteps as he continues to grow in stature.

His breakthrough moment came courtesy of a sublime winning goal against Everton in the FA Cup back in January of last year.

Since then he has gone from strength to strength and is poised to become the latest academy graduate who makes himself a mainstay in the first team. The midfielder is battling in an immensely competitive area of Klopp’s squad but is doing his ambitions, and his manager’s dream, no harm.

Jones’ classy display

Only last week the 21-year-old scored at Brentford in Liverpool’s 3-3 draw. It would’ve been the winner had the hosts not grabbed a late equaliser.

Jones’ opportunities have been at a premium this term but Klopp was full of praise for his efforts in the midweek mauling of Porto.

He said: “Curtis played a good game. He had some problems a little bit with the stomach before the game; they told me I need to keep an eye on him but I told him after the game whatever it is, keep it because it was really a good game.

“He played a really good game, he was everywhere, he was involved in everything. Set up the first goal with a surprising finish, goalie cannot save it.

“In a lot of other situations he was really there – maybe not as spectacular as the offensive stuff, but defensively he played a top-class game.

“He defended really well, pressed from the blind side, a lot of things I liked a lot about his performance tonight. So, let’s keep going, Curtis, it was not bad tonight.”

Rewind two years and it was Liverpool’s Marc Bridge-Wilkinson who was overseeing Jones’ development.

The midfielder previously captained Liverpool on the Youth League stage and has shown what can be achieved at Anfield with a swift rise.

Liverpool’s youngsters were in attendance in Portugal and will have been inspired by Jones’ performance.

“We were sitting in the stand watching our first team in Porto [and] we saw Curtis Jones putting on a heck of a show,” Bridge-Wilkinson told Liverpool’s official website.

“Two years before that he would have been sat with us as part of our U19s squad, so that is really pleasing to see that.

“Going away from home in this competition allows us to take the boys to watch the first team in the evening and it was a great experience for everyone to see the first team play and witness the atmosphere.

“Our first team put on a bit of a show so that was really nice to see at first hand.”

Kaide Gordon, whilst not Liverpool born and bred, is one youngster tipped to eventually push for first team involvement.

Neco Williams is one who has been given opportunities under Klopp but faces a challenge in trying to usurp Alexander-Arnold.

Leighton Clarkson and Bobby Clark are also among those highly thought of.

But while their paths to stardom still face plenty of tests to come, as far as Jones is concerned, he is already playing a part in Liverpool’s present, and future.