Liverpool was previously linked with Enzo Fernández, but data from this season shows that Jürgen Klopp may have saved the Reds from making a $136m transfer outlay.
Liverpool missed out on the signature of Moisés Caicedo last summer. But while he might have been the most high-profile, he isn’t the only recent Chelsea player who was also linked with an Anfield switch.
The Reds were also previously linked with Enzo Fernández during his time at River Plate and Benfica (including via The Times), but Jürgen Klopp’s decision to stick with an academy project has paid off — and the data is showing it this season.
Curtis Jones is enjoying a career-best season in Liverpool’s midfield where is never looked more at home, with even neutral fans beginning to appreciate what he brings to the side. His recent display against Newcastle, in particular, was one of his standouts.
It was last April when Jones returned to the line-up in the 0-0 draw at Stamford Bridge, putting in a reasonable display in terms of taking care of the ball. Fernández featured in that game too, but it was former Blues star N’golo Kanté who stood out most for the home side.
Since then, Jones has gone from strength-to-strength, in what is now a defined role in Klopp’s midfield. The 22-year-old has already put up a respectable tally of four goals and three assists in 21 appearances this season, averaging a goal contribution every seven games.
That’s impressive for a player who has often been unfairly doubted by many. I have always backed him since his rise through the academy, though it has been, at times, unsurprising to see much of social media demand instant results — with unfair comparisons to the likes of Manchester City’s Phil Foden.
Now in a deeper central midfield role to the one he was used to throughout his time at youth level, comparisons should be drawn elsewhere — including to Chelsea’s Fernández.
FBref reveals how Jones is ranked in the top two per cent of midfielders in terms of pass completion, with an average success rate of 91.2 per cent. While his passes aren’t as progressive as the Argentina internationals, he is significantly better at progressive carries and successful take-ons — as Ben White found out before his cynical foul on Jones at the Emirates Stadium.
Surprisingly, Jones is ranked in the 81st percentile for tackles. His tackling numbers are better than the highly-rated Bruno Guimarães, but what is even more interesting is that Moisés Caicedo is averaging just 0.03 more tackles than the former Liverpool attacking midfielder. Fernández, meanwhile, averages 2.26 tackles per game in comparison to Jones’ 2.61. Even if the argument that Enzo Fernández is a better all-round player than Jones was right, it is undeniable that the gap is closing quickly.
The value of players is much more relative to the role in the particular system they play in modern football, and with Jones looking like an ideal successor to Gini Wijnaldum, Klopp looks to have used the same blueprint to build a new ‘tempo-setter’ in midfield. He has done so without the need for a $136m (£107m/€124m) signing.
That has saved Liverpool a significant outlay in its rebuild, allowing funds to be prioritized on areas of greater need, fast-forwarding a process that turned midfield confusion into clarity — and brought the prospect of silverware back on the red horizon.
