Jürgen Klopp saw the emergence of an exciting midfielder in his Liverpool team last season and he is currently showing him a new side to his game on international duty.
For a little while last season, Jürgen Klopp was struggling to find some midfield balance in his Liverpool team. One midfielder to the next came in and out of the side with the German having threadbare options.
In the end, it was only towards the last few months of the season that the Liverpool boss found a revival and the key to fixing the club’s problems. For much of last season, it felt like Curtis Jones was being forgotten about thanks to his injuries. But that was never the case behind the scenes, Klopp put him into the side when he was ready, and he instantly improved the Liverpool midfield.
A composed and assured personality, Jones played a key role in being the driving force behind Liverpool’s attacks from the center of the pitch. His constant running and energy gave Liverpool a new edge and dynamism in the middle of the park.
And Jones contributed with goals and assists to repay Klopp’s faith. If anyone was disappointed for the season to have ended it will have been the 22-year-old, who felt like he was just getting started.
But the games haven’t quite stopped for Jones. Since the end of the season, the Liverpool academy product has been on international duty with the England U21 side where he has caught the eye with some scintillating performances while playing a markedly different role.
Jones has played a little bit deeper for England’s U21 side with the team possessing so many other attacking midfielders as well. He’s had to restrain his position, but he’s still done really well.
No midfielder has made more passes than Jones with 253 in total, which is impressive considering he was rested in England’s last group game against Germany, and no midfielder has averaged more passes per 90 minutes either with Jones at 78.25.
This side of his game could be an interesting development for him at Liverpool. With the Reds having gone for two offensive midfielders in Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai, Jones now faces stiff competition for the role in which he was so impressive in towards the end of last season.
Klopp will however need variety in his midfield, and with Jones showing he can play in more roles than just one that will bode well for his future at Anfield.
Still extremely young at 22 years old, next season could be his make-it-or-break-it campaign. Mac Allister and Szoboszlai are both young players themselves at 24 years old and 22 years old respectively.
They will be seen as long-term prospects in that Liverpool midfield as well, which means Jones will have to put even more on the table than he has done before.
But it seems like the young midfielder is getting the perfect preparation for that challenge ahead of him at the U21 Euros, with the next step being a semi-final against Israel on Wednesday. Win that tournament with England and Jones will come back for pre-season even more pumped than his end-of-season form has already made him.
