‘Isn’t at the level’: Sky pundit makes Curtis Jones and Harvey Elliott claim at Liverpool

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Stephen Warnock says Harvey Elliott ‘isn’t at the level’ of his Liverpool teammate Curtis Jones from a ‘tactical’ standpoint.

The duo started in the middle of the park as Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool secured a dramatic stoppage-time win over Tottenham Hotspur at the weekend.

For large parts of the campaign, it has been a season of struggle for Curtis Jones, but things have started to pick up since the start of April.

As for Harvey Elliott, even though the 20-year-old is two years younger than Jones, he has earned more minutes this season – Liverpool’s academy product has played just under 800 minutes, whilst Elliott has played 2,200+ in all competitions.

Nonetheless, when discussing the two, former left-back Warnock explained why Jones is superior to his teammate, as he told the Football Show on Sky Sports.

“I thought Curtis Jones was outstanding (against Tottenham),” said Warnock. “I think Harvey Elliott is a great footballer. But tactically he isn’t at the level of Curtis Jones.

“When you see Jordan Henderson comes on, then the game suddenly starts to get balanced, in the way that Liverpool play.

“It’s not a slight against Harvey Elliott. He is just younger and a little bit naive in certain situations by gambling and going ahead. You can’t do that in the Premier League. You have to sit in a little bit.

“What is he 19? He will learn that and understand it. Curtis Jones has been getting a lot of stick over the years at Liverpool. Tactically he is brilliant. He understands when to go and when not to go. How to close down. His retention on the ball is very intelligent. The only reason why Liverpool fans get frustrated by him is because we know he can do more. He plays within himself.”

KLOPP TO ROTATE?

That was a blockbuster of a game against Tottenham on Sunday, which would have taken a lot out of the players.

But there is no time to rest because Marco Silva’s Fulham will make the trip to Merseyside on Wednesday night.

It wouldn’t be a surprise if Klopp rings the changes in the midfield, such as bringing back the experienced Jordan Henderson, just to freshen things up.