Jurgen Klopp opted for rotation against Dean Smith’s Norwich City outfit, making seven changes during a busy month of football for Liverpool.
Despite opting to use the options in his squad, however, the German did not call on the services of Curtis Jones for the starting XI or the bench for the third successive game in a row, with the midfielder missing out on wins against Inter Milan and Burnley.
It would appear to be a purely selection motivated call rather than inspired by an injury to the 21-year-old.
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What makes the absence of the Academy graduate strange is the fact that he was arguably one of the club’s better players during a difficult January period whilst Mo Salah and Sadio Mane were at the AFCON.
It could be as simple as there being too much quality available for the Englishman to break beyond – indeed, the availability of Harvey Elliott, Naby Keita and Thiago Alcantara beyond some of our usual other suspects.
Nonetheless, it will be interesting to observe whether Jones’ absence in the squad persists throughout the month and into our FA Cup meeting with the Canaries in March.
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