Curtis Jones Is Fast Becoming Liverpool's Most Complete Midfielder

Liverpool were effectively missing five midfielders on Sunday. That should have been a problem.

Injuries ruled out Jordan Henderson, Thiago Alcantara and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, while absences at the back meant that Fabinho and James Milner had to drop into the backline.

Georginio Wijnaldum, as a result, was forced to sit between the lines, leaving just two players available to do the leg work on either side of him.

One of those was a 19-year-old who had started just two league games previously.

Unfortunately for Leicester, it was also Curtis Jones.

The teenager is often compared to Steven Gerrard for his driving runs and ability to carry the team forward, but he brings something to the table that no Melwood alumnus has since Steve McManaman. He can take the ball down and explode past his man in the blink of an eye, and does it gracefully, without breaking a sweat.

He's not yet 20, but his composure on the ball already rivals that of any Liverpool player, and on Sunday, it contributed to a win that reminded everyone why Jurgen Klopp's side should still be considered title favourites.

Leicester targeted the Reds' right side as it featured three players who should have no business playing for the Premier League champions. The 'overpriced' Diogo Jota took the place of Mohamed Salah and a 35-year-old James Milner filled in for the prodigious Trent Alexander-Arnold. On the ball, Jones was the player tasked with linking the two, and off it, he faced up to James Maddison, who attacked the inside channel while James Justin made the outside runs.

It was a huge task and one Klopp would not have asked of him had it not been absolutely necessary. Yet it didn't faze him in the slightest - he was constantly showing for the ball and trying, and succeeding, to make things happen.

There is a case to be made for him as Liverpool's most complete midfielder. As was evident several times in the first half, his instincts on how to progress play rival Oxlade-Chamberlain and Keita, but he also puts in a shift defensively - he won 11 duels on Sunday, more than any other Liverpool player.

We're talking about someone who only made his debut for England's Under-21s in July.

Klopp wants his players to solve problems for him, and Jones is doing that time and again. Though there may be concerns about where his appearances will come from when everyone is back and fit, he is already within an hour of his entire minutes total from last season. He has the trust of his manager and that will continue to reflect as the fixtures come without a break over the next couple of months.

Now that the snowball has started, it's going to take a train to stop Jones' rise to the top at Anfield. He has time, faith, and ability on his side, and while he isn't yet an automatic starter, that just looks like a matter of time.


Source : 90min