‘He’s got football arrogance’ – 11 quotes on rising Liverpool star Curtis Jones

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Planet Football
30th January 2021

Liverpool‘s academy has produced some incredible players over the years – and Curtis Jones is the latest talent from their conveyor belt to get fans excited.

Jones enjoyed an impressive breakthrough season in 2019-20, making 12 first-team appearances in all competitions under Jurgen Klopp, and has since become more of a first-team regular this season.

The 20-year-old looks set for a bright future at Anfield and we’ve rounded up some of the best quotes about him.

Jamie Carragher

“He’s an attacking midfield player who, as soon as Steven Gerrard went down to the academy to manage, he was speaking to me about this player saying he has got a chance for the first-team,” Carragher told Sky Sports in September 2018.

“He’s got what I would call football arrogance when you see him play he’s got something about him, he stands out.

“You watch him at the level he has played at, will he take that to the first-team? Who knows, but certainly in pre-season he really impressed, I think Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool supporters know he has that football arrogance.

“It’s whether some can take to senior football, but certainly going off pre-season, Curtis takes to it like a duck to water.”

Stephen Warnock

“I remember coming off the pitch and saying to Steven, ‘who’s the No.10?’ Because he just glides past players, making it look so effortless, so easy,” Warnock told Sky Sports News in January 2020.

“Steven turned around and said Jones has everything to become a top player. If his attitude is right, he’ll make it to the top.

“That’s coming from someone like Steven. Jones is maturing and is under the right manager who is giving him trust to go out and express himself, to play the way he wants.”

Steven Gerrard

“This team is built around him. He’s a top talent and he’s a top player,” Gerrard said while working as Liverpool Under-18s manager in September 2017.

“It’s important he gets on the ball as much as he can because he makes us play. He’s got that quality to create something out of nothing.

“But it’s important we don’t get carried away. Curtis is doing really well, he’s improving all the time. He’s a great kid, he wants to work, he wants to learn, he’s a top, top talent.

“It’s just important we keep giving him the right values and we keep working on the other side of his game. We know he’s fantastic on the ball, we are trying to improve the whole package.”

READ: 23 of the best quotes on Steven Gerrard: ‘One of those fairytales’

James Milner

“I’ve seen a massive difference in Curtis in the last year,” Milner said in September 2019. “He’s always had that ability but seems a bit more mature now; [he’s] defending well, getting his angles right when he’s defending.

“I think he’s realised as well that if you want to play for Liverpool, that’s as important as the stuff on the ball. Not only that, he’s got so much ability and skills and tricks, and it’s about using them in the right area.

“I think he’s learning that more and more now – you don’t want him doing it on the halfway line, you want him getting hold of it in the final third. That’s where you do your tricks and get people in the box.

“I said to him before the game, ‘I wouldn’t want to defend you in the box, so get them in there and drive at them’. He’s got great ability.”

Adrian

“Curt is doing really well, I see him training every day,” Adrian told Liverpool’s official website in March 2020. “He is a quality player and he has many abilities.

“He’s really young, but he’s learning a lot, training every day with first-team players and experienced players to give him that experience.

“So every time he’s playing, he wants to show to everyone that he’s a top player. Obviously he has this gap to still learn and to still improve, but he’s in a good way. He’s a magnificent player that can help Liverpool soon and now he’s also helping us in the moment when he plays.”

Neil Critchley

“Curtis has been a consistent top performer for us this season and I suppose the test for him now and the test for us is to keep driving the standard for him and not to settle for what he’s got,” the former Liverpool Under-23s manager told their official website in February 2020.

“I know he won’t be and he will be looking for more. He has had a taste of it and he wants more of that. Curtis knows he has to keep performing if he wants more chances at senior level but I’m sure that will come at some point.”

READ: An Xl of Liverpool academy graduates still playing elsewhere: Suso, Sterling…

Jamie Carragher

“Curtis has kicked on this year, but that’s what young players do,” Carragher told the Liverpool Echo in February 2020.

“They just make a jump and you’re never quite sure when it’s going to happen, but they have to make that jump if they’re going to rise to the ability of the first-team and it looks like he has made that jump now.

“When he plays in the younger team, it almost looks like he’s a first-team player dropping down to play with the younger players.

“The one criticism of this Liverpool team is sometimes a lack of creativity from central midfield, and I think he could provide that.”

Jordan Henderson

“[Curtis] wants to be better every day,” Henderson said in July 2020. “And not just with a ball at his feet. In every aspect of being a professional.

“It’s so pleasing to see how he’s grown and developed and sometimes I have to remind myself how young he is, because he has the physical attributes of a much more experienced player.

“The crucial thing now is that he continues doing exactly what he’s done to get here. If he keeps that attitude of making sure improvement and learning is his number one focus, he really can achieve anything he wants.”

Jurgen Klopp

“There is still space for improvement but everyone knows my opinion of Curtis Jones, he is an exceptional talent and we will have some fun with him I am pretty sure in the future,” Klopp said after Jones scored twice in a 7-2 win over Lincoln in September 2020.

“Both goals were difficult, the second one the first touch was absolutely exceptional between two opponents and then he opens up and sees the opportunity and finishes it off.”

READ: The 30 academy grads given Liverpool debuts by Klopp & how they’ve fared

James Pearce

“For me, when I look at those young players and the development in them over the course of this season, he’s the one I think who’s made the biggest strides,” the journalist told the Red Agenda podcast in June 2020.

“I think he’s had an amazing year. When you factor in the winner against Everton and the honour of becoming Liverpool’s youngest-ever captain when he skippered them to victory in that cup replay again Shrewsbury Town.

“I think physically, he is now much more able to make an impact at the top level and you can see how much he’s benefited from training day-in, day-out with top-class players.”

Curtis Jones

“I’ve got goals I want to achieve, of course. I could sit here and write that I want to win the Champions League, the World Cup, the Ballon d’Or…you name it. But I just want to repay the faith the manager and his staff have in me,” Jones told the Liverpool Echo in August 2020.

“To be a local lad involved in that [lifting the Premier League title] is definitely a dream come true and I am just happy that I have made my family and the fans proud.

“I can’t wait until it is my turn to be in the team and I am winning games with the club. I want to become a legend in this city myself.”