Curtis Jones was handed the rare opportunity to both captain Liverpool and play right-back, with Jurgen Klopp then being quick to explain how he managed to break the news to the Scouser.
Speaking with the media after the game, our manager said (via liverpoolfc.com): “Yesterday, when I told him he would be playing right-back, the same moment. I sold the right-back idea with the captaincy, let me say it like that.
“But he was already completely excited when I told him that he will play right-back. The way he executed it was super-special, I have to say. Wow. Super-smart.
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“We thought about him. We couldn’t play Stefan long, we have to be careful with him. Joey will be OK for the weekend but was not OK for today. For Trent it is too early. So I needed to find solutions and Curtis was always in my mind as a potential solution there.
“He is really football smart, he enjoys being on the ball and the deeper you are the more often you can get the ball. It was a top performance, I have to say, for the first time in – for him – a strange position. He did really well and I liked that a lot. He is in a good moment, so he could probably play each position in the moment.
“But we will try to use him as often as possible in his natural position”.
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It certainly didn’t seem that there was much convincing that had to be done in order for the 22-year-old to take to the pitch in the inverted full-back role and that is testament to his character.
The way in which our boss spoke about his No.17 just shows how highly he rates him and that’s a great indicator as to how important the academy graduate is to his team.
You can watch Klopp’s comments on Jones via @footballdaily on X:
🗣️ "I sold the right-back idea with the captaincy." 😅
Jurgen Klopp calls Curtis Jones' role in the Liverpool team "super special" pic.twitter.com/JuqmHtk6Pz
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) September 28, 2023