With Curtis Jones‘ display vs. Chelsea emphasising Liverpool’s depth in midfield, Jamie Carragher believes it may have ended interest in Martin Zubimendi.
Jones made back-to-back starts for the first time under Arne Slot as he kept his place for the visit of Chelsea, rewarding the head coach with a star turn.
It was the midfielder who won the penalty for Mohamed Salah‘s opener, and having been denied another after being brought down by Robert Sanchez, he went on to score the winner for 2-1.
For a player who faces ongoing doubts over his value to the side, Jones answered his critics emphatically – and Carragher was delighted.
“He was brilliant, he was outstanding” ?@Carra23 praises match winner Curtis Jones ? pic.twitter.com/nBMaG7LvUn
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) October 20, 2024
“He was brilliant, he was outstanding,” he said on Sky Sports.
“He’s still at that stage where he’s not ever really made himself first choice, where he knows he’s playing.
“You’ve got Mac Allister and Gravenberch who are outstanding, so it’s got to be tough for him, but what a performance that was.
“You think of the quality on the pitch, you think of the money that’s been spent and for a local lad to put a performance in like that was outstanding.”
Asked what Jones had to do in order to keep his place in the side given the competition for places, Carragher took the chance to stress Liverpool’s depth in midfield after a summer that saw them spurned by their only transfer target.
“He’s got to keep playing like that, at the highest level,” he continued.
“He’s up against two top players. But he’s going to get plenty of games, Liverpool play 50, 60 games every season.
“I keep thinking in the back of my mind, will Arne Slot go back in for Zubimendi in January?
“When you see performances like that you’re thinking no.
“Over the last few weeks I’ve thought maybe Liverpool could still do with a midfielder, but when you’ve got someone like Curtis Jones and you’ve got those three battling for two positions, that’s a great quality.”
Carragher added: “That was almost a throwback to when I started watching football and you just called someone a midfield player.
“You remember Bryan Robson, it was Steve McMahon for Liverpool, Peter Reid for Everton.
“You had to defend and also get forward, and that’s the type of performance we saw today. He was a little bit of everything.
“Doing the defensive job on Cole Palmer, getting into the box, getting a goal, getting a penalty.”
In his own post-match interview with Sky Sports, Jones explained the importance of his work in shadowing long-time England teammate Palmer.
“We know how important he is for the whole of their team, how many goals he scores and his assists as well,” the match-winner said.
“So I had it in my mind that if I can keep Cole quiet then it’s a huge part of their game gone.
“[For my block] I saw he was a little bit free and I knew it was on me, so I did a little bit of a slide and he still had the ball – I put my foot there and just hoped, then I blocked the shot.
“He didn’t score or assist, so I’m happy!”
Liverpool 2-1 Chelsea
