Jamie Carragher has revealed that Steven Gerrard was impressed with Curtis Jones from the moment he took over as under-18s boss.
Gerrard has, of course, since moved on to Rangers, where he has made a decent start to senior management, but before he made the move north, he spoke to Carragher about the teenage star.
Jones, born in Toxteth, was superb during first-team pre-season in the US and on home soil, and Carragher revealed he made an instant impression on Gerrard, his former coach.
During Sky Sports’ coverage of the Reds’ defeat to Chelsea, Carragher said: “He’s an attacking midfield player who, as soon as Steven Gerrard went down to the academy to manage, he was speaking to me about this player saying he has got a chance for the first-team.
“What he meant by that is that [Curtis] has a chance of dipping his toe in and it’s up to him, some people take to it, some people don’t.
“He’ll get opportunities under Jurgen Klopp as he is still very young. He’s got what I would call football arrogance when you see him play he’s got something about him, he stands out.”
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There is still plenty of time for Jones, who was born in 2001, to make an impact, but it seems that he has more than half a chance of making it.
Carragher added: “You watch him at the level he has played at, will he take that to the first-team? Who knows, but certainly in pre-season, he really impressed.
“I think Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool supporters know he has that football arrogance. It’s whether some can take to senior football but certainly going off pre-season, Curtis takes to it like a duck to water.”