NewsCurtis Jones: I've changed so much - but it's got to be just the beginning
Curtis Jones feels like a changed player in 2023 – and the Liverpool midfielder is determined to keep building on his progressive calendar year.
The No.17 finished the previous campaign as a consistent figure in Jürgen Klopp’s XI, with 11 starts and three goals from early April to the end of the season.
He was then a star figure in England’s success at the U21 European Championship during the summer, named Player of the Match as the Young Lions defeated Spain 1-0 in the final.
Back at club level, Jones has continued to be called upon by the manager so far this term, notwithstanding a three-match domestic suspension and a recent hamstring injury.
Now nearing his 23rd birthday and having passed a century of matches for his boyhood side, Jones is determined to harness his experience for better moving forward.
Speaking on the forthcoming new episode of the We are Liverpool podcast, Jones says of the transition from Academy talent to senior player: “I feel it and I’m trying to sound like it as well!
“Definitely. There has been a huge change in the team and I’m one of the ones who has been here – it’s mad to say, I’m only 22 – but I’ve been here [since] 17. There’s lads who are coming in now and it’s their first time around the team, so I’m like an experienced one who has been around the whole of the thing for a long time.
“So, yeah, even though I’m young I do feel like I’m one of the experienced ones and know how the manager and staff like [us] to go and play.
“He’s spoken about it a lot the way I’m the first one to go and press and things like that. Now, I was a kid who came in and pressing and defending were never a thing for me! ‘No, I don’t need that part of the game.’
“Now that he’s picking up on it loads and he’s spoken about it, just goes to show how much that I’ve actually changed.”
He continues: “I feel I’m at a point now where he [Klopp] understands, ‘OK, we can bring him on if the team is getting beat because we know he can pop up with a goal or he can create something, or he can start in a big game because we know what we’ll get from him is going to be hard work, he will go and press, he won’t hide if the other team is on top, he will want the ball still, he’s not scared.’
“So, I feel like I’ve gained his trust. But I’ve still got a long way to go.
“I’m on 100 games but I feel it’s just the beginning and I want to just carry on and hold the form and keep it going.”
Watch or listen to the full interview with Jones in episode 14 of the We are Liverpool podcast from 7am GMT on Tuesday, available on LFCTV GO, YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and wherever you get your podcasts.
For more information on how to watch or listen to the We are Liverpool podcast, visit liverpoolfc.com/info/podcasts.