Liverpool academy director Alex Inglethorpe has been discussing Curtis Jones in a recent interview with The Athletic’s James Pearce.
The 19-year-old became the club’s youngest scorer in a Merseyside derby since Robbie Fowler in 1994 back in January as well as being the Reds’ youngest ever captain when he led the side out in the replay against Shrewsbury in the fourth round of the FA Cup earlier this season (as per The Athletic).
Inglethorpe said: “Curtis is a prodigious talent.” He went on to say: “There’s no question he has both the ability and the mindset. He has shown that he’s capable of playing in that company.
“I think we’ve seen a level of maturity that comes with playing with top players and top people. The messages he gets from James Milner, Jordan Henderson, Gini Wijnaldum and Virgil van Dijk, they are as important to him as any of the coaching he’s had before.”
He also stated: “I guess the challenge for Curtis is remaining patient. He’s got world-class players currently playing in his position. He’s at a club who have been successful and who are competing for and winning the biggest trophies. He has to be ready to take that chance when it comes along. I have every faith in him that, if he’s given it, he will take it.”
Jones has featured just twice in the Premier League this season, playing a total of 19 minutes in fixtures versus Bournemouth and West Ham United (via Transfermarkt.co.uk). However, it is believed that he is ‘further down that road than most of his peers’, as per James Pearce.
Whilst Inglethorpe has made it clear he has “every faith” in the versatile 19-year-old, he has also warned that the biggest challenge the player will face is “remaining patient” until his opportunity in the first-team comes along.
Do you think Jones will go on to become a first-team regular?
Yes
No
TIF Thoughts…
Up until now, Jones’ opportunities to show what he can do on the Premier League stage have been extremely limited. This could be due to the fact that Jurgen Klopp has Fabinho, Georginio Wijnaldum, Naby Keita, Jordan Henderson, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, and James Milner who are all comfortable operating in the middle of the park (via Transfermarkt.co.uk).
Therefore, Inglethorpe’s comments regarding the need for him to practice patience, make perfect sense. The Reds are closing in on their first league title since the 1989/90 season, needing just two victories between now and the end of the campaign. If they are indeed able to secure the prize with games to spare, it will be interesting to see whether Jones is afforded more game time to further his development and show what he can do going into the summer.