Paul Scholes told Premier League Productions (28/02/21 at 9:15 pm) that Curtis Jones has ‘really suffered’ ever since Thiago came back into the Liverpool side.
After joining for £20 million in the summer (Sky Sports), Thiago has suffered injuries and COVID, which restricted his game time during the early part of the campaign.
But in recent weeks, he has been a regular for Liverpool even though they have suffered from a number of indifferent results and performances.
One man who has shone, and did against Sheffield United at the weekend, was their rising academy star, Jones.
But Manchester United legend Scholes thinks Thiago’s return affected the attack-minded midfielder.
“I have always liked this lad,” said Scholes. “I think he’s a really good footballer.
“I think he’s the one that really suffered with Thiago coming back into the team in January. I actually did a Wolves game and he was brilliant.
“He does need to add more goals to his game but you can see he’s definitely going to be capable of doing that.
“If he can stay in the team, keep fit then, at this level, he will score a lot of goals and create a lot of goals.”
Jones’ breakthrough campaign came last season, but it’s during this season where he is starting to really pick up.
With the likes of Jordan Henderson and Fabinho having to play at the back, it has helped his game time in the middle of the park.
It could be argued that he has been one of Liverpool’s best players this season in a campaign that could potentially seem them lose out on Champions League football.
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