In the latest Blood Red column, Ian Doyle looks at the position of Curtis Jones as the Liverpool midfielder returns to where it all started
05:00, 06 Mar 2026Updated 09:00, 06 Mar 2026
Curtis Jones of Liverpool(Image: Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images)
Curtis Jones returns to the venue where it all started for him at Liverpool this evening. But for a player who has more than 200 appearances under his belt, his Anfield future is far from certain.
Jones is among several players likely to be recalled to the starting line-up as Arne Slot looks to rotate as much as his resources allow for the FA Cup fifth round clash at Wolves.
It was during a third round match at Molineux back in January 2019 that Jones was thrown in by Jurgen Klopp for his senior debut having impressed at Academy level.
Jones was replaced after 70 minutes as Liverpool lost 2-1 and didn’t feature in the first team again for another nine months. But it was a first significant step on a journey that has twice seen him win the Premier League, also lift the FA Cup and League Cup and be a non-playing substitute in the FIFA Club World Cup triumph in 2019.
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An outing this evening would move the 25-year-old on to 36 appearances this season and only last campaign, with 46 outings, will he have made more for Liverpool. A start would be his 20th of the term, closing in on his best-ever tally of 27 last year.
Only five players in the current squad have played more for the club, all of whom bar Joe Gomez are well into their thirties.
But Jones has never truly been regarded as a regular. He has not made more than six successive Premier League starts under Slot and bettered that tally only once with Klopp when beginning the last 11 matches of the 2022/23 season.
While his versatility is a strength – he has played in seven different positions in less than two years for Slot – it has also made it more difficult to break into a midfield that has largely avoided Liverpool’s injury jinx.
With Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai and Florian Wirtz as competition, long-term absenteeism has been limited to Wataru Endo after an ankle operation.
Now approaching his peak years, Jones needs to be playing. A previously-declared ambition to captain Liverpool in the future won’t outweigh the desire for regular minutes, even if that means heading elsewhere.
And it’s possible. Eyebrows were raised when Inter expressed an interest in January – their plan to take the player on loan was never going to get off the ground – but it shone a spotlight on the fact Jones is approaching the last 12 months of his current deal.
There could, though, be a cautionary tale from a player who made the difference the last time Liverpool were at Wolves in the FA Cup.
Harvey Elliott scored the only goal in their third round replay in 2023 and over the next 18 months became a regular feature for the Reds. However, game time under Slot was limited last term and Elliott agreed a loan move to Aston Villa with the Midlands having an obligation to buy provided the player makes sufficient appearances.
We know what has happened next, Elliott left in limbo having effectively wasted a year of his career before this summer returning to a club that has already planned without him. The leaving of Liverpool isn’t always easy, particularly for younger players.
Villa have previously been interested in Jones, so too Tottenham Hotspur. But his natural game, based more on technical ability than pace or brute strength, has made him particularly effective in the Champions League and at international level, and explains the appeal from the likes of Inter.
Having not featured in Thomas Tuchel’s last three England squads, any chance of Jones featuring in the forthcoming World Cup – after scoring on his debut against Greece in 2024 and starting four out of five games for his country – is remote.
Jones has rolled with every punch thrown in his direction at Liverpool, exposed to the unique challenges that face a homegrown player making his way through the Academy to becoming a first-team regular.
Very few local talents achieve the Liverpool appearance landmarks he has. And the remaining few months of his season could determine whether he reaches another one.
