Gabby Agbonlahor has praised Curtis Jones’ recent form, saying the midfielder must continue to seize his chances to keep a spot on the teamsheet, as Thiago Alcantara, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Naby Keita remain on the sidelines.
It’s a deserved compliment from the former Villa man, who has advised Jones to look no farther than Liverpool’s very own Diogo Jota as inspiration to keep himself in contention when key players return to the squad.
“It’s hard to be on the same level as those Liverpool players that are world-class,” Agbonlahor told Football Insider. “Curtis Jones for sure has looked good, he just has to try and take his chance whenever he gets it and keep trying to score and assist. “
When Liverpool get the full squad back they’ve got Thiago, Oxlade-Chamberlain, they’ve got so many players to come back in he might not make the bench then so he’s got to take his chance now like Jota has. He’s got to make himself undroppable”.
In truth, the Academy graduate has earned his time in the limelight, after his match-winning goal in the Reds’ 1-0 shutout of Ajax.
We’ve seen glimpses of the No.17’s potential over the last few seasons, but there’s been a notable step-up in performance from previous years, which will give Jurgen Klopp some serious food for thought when the club’s injury list begins to deplete.
Should Curtis continue to make the most of the injury crisis, it’ll be difficult to justify replacing him in the first XI; at the very least, we reckon the youngster will be heavily relied on as part of Klopp’s rotation plans for the season.
With Thiago, the Ox and Keita out for the foreseeable future however, we look forward to observing Jones’ continued rise.