Curtis Jones has one very clear message for Arne Slot on the eve of the Premier League marketing campaign – I’ll play wherever you need me to.
The 23-year-old featured in a deeper midfield function than standard for Liverpool in pre-season video games, and whereas he’s said that a central place is his desire, he’s comfortable to adapt to no matter job the brand new head coach provides him inside the group.
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The Reds’ quantity 17 advised the Liverpool Echo: “It’s essential to be versatile now since you’re not all the time assured to have your house within the group the place that’s your place and also you’ve made that mark.
“We play so many video games and there could possibly be accidents and stuff, and the supervisor is aware of I can play off the left, I can play as a ten, I can play as an eight, if he wants me to play right-back I’ve achieved it earlier than.
“Though I wish to be a central midfielder and play there, I’ve tailored to taking part in different areas and if he wants me to play wherever else, I can do it.”
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The overwhelming majority of Jones’ 133 senior appearances for Liverpool have been in a central midfield function, however he’s often featured as a quantity 6 and 10, has performed on the left and even lined out at right-back towards Brighton within the 2020/21 marketing campaign (Transfermarkt).
One function of the pre-season programme beneath Slot is that, in his system, gamers don’t have a tendency to stick rigidly to a hard and fast place, as a substitute interchanging ceaselessly in a fluid setup which guarantees to make for thrilling viewing.
Due to this fact, because the 23-year-old himself has referenced, the chances are high that he’ll pattern a number of completely different positions not simply over the course of the season, however probably inside a person match.
For Jones, the goal will probably be to lastly make himself an everyday starter for Liverpool. He was chosen from the off in simply 14 Premier League video games final time period, which remains to be his highest tally of top-flight begins in a single marketing campaign (WhoScored).
He turns 24 subsequent January, so he’s now at an age the place he’s not content material to be out and in of the group on a relentless loop. If Slot provides him a number of alternatives over the approaching weeks, the onus is on the Toxteth native to carry out to a level the place the boss merely can’t go away him out.
It ought to be fascinating to see how our quantity 17 fares beneath the brand new head coach’s tutelage.
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