After the 1-0 defeat to RB Salzburg, Curtis Jones shared what he would like to achieve at Liverpool in the 2022/23 campaign.
What’s the story?
Well, the £47,000-a-week Liverpool man is predicting a big season for himself on a personal level.
As quoted by LFCTV, Jones said: “I think this is the sharpest I’ve ever been. For me I’d like to go for ten goals and ten assists. I’ve said it before, I don’t see it as rivalries. It’s healthy competition and the whole team is good, but so am I, so I’ll show that this season.”
Clearly, the England Under-21 international is a confident guy.
Jones scored just one goal in 27 appearances for the Reds last season, while also providing four assists.
That is evidently a long, long way away from the level he hopes to reach in the 2022/23 campaign, as he targets 20 goal involvements in all competitions.
In total, the Liverpool No.17 has only ever scored three goals in 45 Premier League appearances.
We are not intending to use that as a stick to beat him with.
Ultimately, we are just suggesting it will take a major leap in progress for Jones to register that many goal involvements, based on the evidence so far.
2022/23 is a huge season for Curtis Jones at Liverpool
In our view, if Jones doesn’t make a bigger impact at Anfield this season, he could easily find himself out on loan in the 2023/24 campaign – if not sold.
That isn’t to say that the Liverpool-born maestro isn’t a fine footballer, as he is.
The issue is that Liverpool are, well, Liverpool – one of the best sides in Europe, who employ some of the best midfielders around.
If Jones is to get frequent chances ahead of the likes of Thiago, Jordan Henderson, Fabinho, Naby Keita, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and James Milner, he will have to seriously impress Jürgen Klopp.
That is without mentioning Harvey Elliott and Fabio Carvalho, both of whom have shone – more so than Jones – during pre-season so far.
Hopefully, the Kirkby Academy graduate can achieve his goals for the 2022/23 campaign, and kick on at Anfield.
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