‘Too many touches,’ says Mark Lawrenson, who believes the 21-year-old Liverpool player is simply too slow on the ball.

Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones is guilty of taking too many touches when in possession of the ball.

That’s the view of former Liverpool defender Mark Lawrenson. Speaking to Off The Ball earlier this week, Lawrenson said Jones hadn’t kicked on enough over the last few years.

“The kids, [Harvey] Elliott, [Fabio] Carvalho for them, it’s too early for them to be playing on a regular basis,” began the pundit.

“Curtis Jones, too many touches when he’s got the opportunity to play. He came on with that goal against Arsenal [Everton] in the FA Cup two or three years ago and he’s not really kicked on, so what do you do?”

It’s time to get Curtis going.
To be fair to Curtis, injuries have prevented him from reaching his full potential at Liverpool thus far.

Even when fit, the 21-year-old hasn’t shown any real signs of growth. In any case, not nearly enough. Four years after making his Reds debut, he still feels like a supporting player.

His role on the team might have evolved more if he hadn’t missed so much of the last two seasons. He’s no closer to being a regular starter right now than he was in 2019.

That will not be a major issue for many people. Jones is still in his early twenties. But he’ll be twenty-two before January ends and February begins. In short, he isn’t as young as he once was.

Certainly, when you consider other players in a similar position in his age category, the Scouser is being left behind.

Jude Bellingham is obviously a freak of nature, in the very best way possible, but he’s lightyears ahead of Jones and is two-and-a-half years younger.

The likes of Pedri and Jamal Musiala are other, younger players who Jones could group himself with. But they also look much more accomplished than the Liverpool man.

Perhaps it’s unfair to compare our No.17 with these burgeoning superstars. He does have the talent to match them though, we’ve seen that in flashes. He does have a tendency to keep the ball a little longer and we do need to see that ironed out over time. It’s a big year for him. Heeding some of Lawro’s advice wouldn’t be a bad place to start.