Curtis Jones is a key member of Jurgen Klopp’s star-studded squad and, although he may not be a guaranteed starter, the number of opportunities that he’s given shows that the manager trusts him.
Our last match against Wolves handed the Scouser the chance to make his 100th appearance for the Reds and that also brought with it another impressive statistic for the midfielder.
As reported by Ian Doyle for the Liverpool ECHO: ‘The 22-year-old became only the third homegrown Academy graduate after Steven Gerrard and Trent Alexander-Arnold to make 100 appearances for Liverpool since the current building at Kirkby was opened 25 years ago’.
For any homegrown talent to be able to see their name alongside Steven Gerrard and Trent Alexander-Arnold would be both a real thrill and an indicator that a childhood dream has been realised.
It seems as though our No.17 won’t hit the lofty heights of the two men who came before him, although we’re all hoping to be proven wrong, but this just illustrates how hard it is to get into our side.
The 22-year-old has a long career ahead of him and he can act as another benchmark for those in the academy to strive towards, as they too try to make a name for themselves.
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To think of all the local lads in the academy who aspire to get a single appearance and all those who do manage to get in the first-team, the Toxteth-born talent has beaten all but two who came before him.
This is a real indicator of the talent he possesses and how hard it is to realise the dream that so many within the city hold, something which should provide huge pride to a talented young man.
Is that why we only pay him £15k/wk?