Liverpool fans know what England are missing with underrated Jones

After initially emerging under Jurgen Klopp's guidance, Curtis Jones has cemented himself as a key weapon in Arne Slot's armoury.

Photo: IMAGO | Anfield Index

It speaks to how underrated Curtis Jones remains that he has spent this latest international break twiddling his thumbs rather than on international duty with England.

But the Liverpool midfielder can take comfort from the fact that he has no shortage of admirers closer to home.

And that is thanks to establishing himself as a key member of a squad that has now brought success to Anfield under two different managers.

Jones has, of course, had to undergo a transformation along the way, having broken through as a tricky attacking midfielder often played off the left in his days in the youth team.

The young Scouser’s first senior goal was an in-off-the-bar curler against Everton that had supporters thinking the next Steven Gerrard had arrived.

However, he has since been remoulded into a midfield metronome, a change that has invited criticism as much as praise.

With 19 goals from his 183 appearances thus far, it is clear that Jones is not the prolific box-crasher many thought he could be.

But he has developed other strengths, including a remarkable ability to retain possession under pressure.

That is evidenced by Jones boasting the highest pass completion rate of any non-defender (and fourth best overall) in the Premier League last season with 93.1%.

Still, this statistic can also be used against him in the form of suggestions he does not take risks with the ball, even if that clearly ignores that he is following his manager’s instructions in that regard.

Ultimately, in a team with passers like Dominik Szoboszlai, Alexis Mac Allister, Mohamed Salah and now Florian Wirtz, there will always be someone who has to provide the platform of safe possession.

And even if Jones may not look to thread the needle particularly often, it perhaps goes under the radar just how frequently he moves the ball into more dangerous areas for his teammates.

Take this comparison of the expected threat generated across the first three games of this season, which sees Jones ranked sixth despite starting just one of the three Premier League games played thus far.