He's had to be patient, but slowly and surely, it's beginning to happen for Curtis Jones at Liverpool.
The 18-year-old got the first senior goal any Scouser would dream of against Everton at Anfield on Sunday. He did it
No words. #EmiratesFACup pic.twitter.com/Mqxgt3fqLn
— The Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) January 5, 2020
The Liverpool-born youngster may be a new face to the regular observer, but although he is only just now abandoning reserve team duties completely to offer relief amidst a first-team injury crisis, he is as well known a face as any around Melwood. He has been training with the first-team for over 18 months, and for all all intents and purposes, as far as his mentality is concerned, he is an established first-team player.
It's a credit to Jurgen Klopp's hands-on policy with the club's best young talent, breeding a mentality that gives Jones the confidence to take the ball on his right foot from a ridiculously tight angle, and curl the ball past Jordan Pickford into the far corner.
Mix that with his natural confidence in his own footballing abilities -
Liverpool are relentless at present, having won 19 of 20 Premier League matches this season and been crowned champions of Europe, and the world, in the last 12 months. It's no huge stretch of the imagination to say they are one of the best club sides ever seen in England.
And yet Jones, in his infallible faith in his abilities, has been frustrated he has been unable to make more of a breakthrough.
"It's massive for me and the rest of the young boys," he told the BBC after the match. "At times it's frustrating thinking you might get a chance but then having to sit on the bench and watch. We proved that we're learning every day and trying to push for a place in the team.
"There are world-class players in this team but I think I went out and showed what I could do on the pitch."
It's that sort of belief that has characterised this Liverpool team under Klopp, and perhaps more than anything else, it's that sort of belief that means he will have a bright future as a Liverpool player - just ask the manager himself on that one.
Looking at his game, it's obvious to see where his time training with the senior team has benefitted him. Against Everton, and indeed in his other notable appearances against MK Dons and Arsenal, Jones was one of the hardest-working players on the pitch, leading the second line of the press and setting the tone for his teammates.
He's captain of the under-23 team at his young age for a reason.
Clearly, and critically, he's also capable of creating from midfield. His attitude and work-rate alone are enough to make him a bread-and-butter Klopp midfielder in their own right, but there's no escaping the eight goals and four assists he has registered in 12 appearances for the reserve side this season.
He's started just twice for the first team, but he's already scored one and assisted another.
For a team which often finds itself criticised by its own support for a lack of creativity between the lines, that spark could prove to be an immeasurably valuable asset in the years to come.
It's highly unlikely that his match-winning display against the Toffees is going to lead to a sustained run of senior starts for Jones - there is too much competition for places in midfield just yet for that to happen - but parallels with the breakthrough season of Trent Alexander-Arnold, now one of the first names on the team-sheet and arguably the best in the world in his position, suggest it may not be too long before he gets there.
In his first season as a first team player back in 2016/17, Alexander-Arnold was limited to just a handful of substitute appearances and the occasional start in the league, with the majority of his minutes coming in the cup competitions.
He did enough in his handful of appearances to earn himself a greater chance in the season ahead, and went on to make himself a regular, showing the path that Jones could follow in 2020 as he attempts to make himself indispensable.
Exactly where his minutes come from remain to be seen, but James Milner is now 34, and as shown by the injury picked up in the FA Cup clash, perhaps no longer up to 50 games per season. Georginio Wijnaldum could leave upon the expiry of his deal in 18 months, while Adam Lallana - out of contract in the summer - could depart sooner.
All that is to say that midfield opportunities will be coming with increasing frequency, no matter what happens, in the years ahead. Klopp's tendency to lean on youth, met with Jones' attitude, ability and versatility - equally adapt in playing in midfield or from the left flank - give him a fighting chance of stepping in and making the mantle his own.
Plenty can change in football and Jones should be ready to take the highs with the lows, but he has as much a chance of anyone as making it at Anfield, and using his undeniable talents to drive Liverpool forward in the months and years to come.
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Source : 90min