Jones has been on the books at his boyhood club Liverpool since the age of nine, clawing his way up through the youth academy ranks before making his senior football debut in January 2019 in an FA Cup clash with Wolverhampton Wanderers.
After a few seasons on the periphery of the first-team, Jones has become a key player for Klopp in recent times, becoming a regular starter in the Reds’ new-look midfield. Speaking to the press ahead of this week’s Europa League clash with Ligue 1 outfit Toulouse, Jones detailed how he became a regular under Klopp, revealing that he had to change his outlook on the game to do so.
“As an academy kid I was always a kid who jumped up the age groups,” he said. “Then I came into the first team and I kind of felt like I hit a wall, and I couldn’t really take the next step.
“So it was more just going over my game and seeing where the improvements were. I’ve always been a lad who just wanted to go and score goals and pick up the ball and run, you know. But it was at the point where then I learned, ‘ok, there’s more the gaffer and staff want.’ “Now the fans are all saying about how I go and press. I’ve never been a kid who thought about being the first one to go and press or to try to run the most, so I’ve added that in my game. I’m trying to work on just the overall package.
“I’ve still got a lot of things to learn, but I’m getting there.”
The 22-year-old is likely to start the game against Toulouse, but will not feature against Nottingham Forest due to a three-game suspension he picked up for receiving a straight red card in the controversial defeat to Tottenham Hotspur.
Curtis Jones has revealed how a change in his mindset around football helped him become a regular under Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp.
