Speaking on Stadium Astro’s YouTube channel, Stephen Warnock has discussed the drastic change he’s seen in Liverpool’s Curtis Jones since first watching him as a 17-year-old for Steven Gerrard’s U18s team.
Warnock says that Jones was a Sadio Mane-esque winger in his younger days, but here we are two years later and he’s more of a number eight, working as a midfielder in Jurgen Klopp’s outfit.
Jones has grown to be a vitally important player in Klopp’s side, with the manager even admitting that he doesn’t see him as a part of the young group of players anymore, such is his senior responsibility these days.
Warnock says that he’s impressed by how the 19-year-old is developing.
“Yeah, I think he’s definitely learning. The thing with Curtis Jones is I look at him, and I think it’s great to see, because you see he’s taking traits off all the midfielders at the club and he’s trying to learn,” Warnock said.
“When I first saw Curtis Jones was as a 17-year-old playing for Steven Gerrard’s U18s at Liverpool, he was an out and out winger, he was playing in the position Sadio Mane plays in and he didn’t know when to pass the ball, he was a dribbler.
“Now I watch him and he’s brilliant defensively and at pressing. Would I have seen that in him as a 17-year-old? I probably wouldn’t have.”
While it’s great to see that Jones is coming on leaps and bounds at Liverpool, this is really a testament to Jurgen Klopp and his coaching staff.
To spot the winger’s ability to develop into a midfield player at such a young age is an absolute masterstroke, and we can’t imagine there’ll be much looking back now that he has made the switch.
Jones certainly looks to be a star of the future, and if he’s changed this much in two years, we can’t wait to see what his future brings.
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