Curtis Jones has impressed as an emergency right-back for Liverpool this season, but he will have just a year left on his Anfield deal in the summer
Curtis Jones during Liverpool’s Merseyside derby victory over Everton(Image: (Jacques Feeney/Offside/Offside via Getty Images))
Gary McAllister has warned Curtis Jones that if he chooses to leave Liverpool then he risks his career going backwards. Jones is one of eight players who will have a year left on their deals at Liverpool in July.
Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur have both been credited with an interest, while the Reds also held talks with Inter Milan during the January transfer window. However, Liverpool ultimately decided that no senior player would be allowed to depart before the end of the current campaign.
And it now appears that Jones, who grew up in Toxteth, could have a decision to make on whether to extend his stay at Anfield or look to continue his development elsewhere this summer.
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But McAllister, speaking on behalf of Grosvenor Casino ahead of Liverpool’s Premier League clash against Manchester United this afternoon, warned: “Obviously, there’s always major support for somebody who’s come through the ranks of the club.
“Curtis is a player who can come in and command a place, but there has to be that consistency in your play.
“As much as you get that big support at first when you come in as somebody who’s come through the academy, there’s more pressure on you to then stay in the team and keep producing.
“Curtis is very capable, but if he can just find that consistency, because without a shadow of a doubt, he’s had some fantastic performances.
Arne Slot (right) speaks with Curtis Jones (centre) during Liverpool’s win at West Ham United in November(Image: Ben STANSALL / AFP via Getty Images)
“But it’s about consistently grinding out performances and putting a big body of work together over a longer period.
“He’s not a youngster now, he’s an experienced player. He’s played, I don’t know how many games Curtis has played, probably over 100. So he’s very capable.
“But then it becomes the decision of whether he wants to stay if he’s not going to be a regular starter or whether he wants to go and play games somewhere else.
“That’s something for the individual. I’m sure most of the players I played with who came through the ranks at Liverpool didn’t really want to leave.
“Because when you leave Liverpool, you’re only really going one way. There’s not many moves upwards from Liverpool.”
Jones has impressed as an emergency right-back for the Reds this season, and asked if he wanted the England international to remain at Anfield, Reds skipper Virgil van Dijk said: “Of course. I don’t know what’s going to happen because I’m not the boss.
“Curtis, I thought, was outstanding against Everton, was not too much spoken about, but especially in possession he was quite a big game-changer, especially in his positioning.
“It’s nice to be in your original position, but he is so comfortable on the ball, he understands what is asked from that position.”
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