It was a surprise to see Curtis Jones back in the Liverpool starting 11 on Tuesday night for Liverpool’s second leg Last 16 Champions League clash with Inter Milan.
Jones has found minutes tough to come by at times this season.
Although a popular academy graduate, Jones has made just 11 league appearances so far and struggled to stamp his authority on some of the matches in which he did feature.
This has led to wider questions among Liverpool fans about whether the youngster may need another step to make the grade at the club.
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But while he didn’t excel in Tuesday night’s win, it was still a performance that had promise and the same shed some light on why Jurgen Klopp continues to believe in him.
Irrespective of this, it’s probably not unfair to say that Jones isn’t quite at the stage in which he could regularly displace key Liverpool midfielders.
He could potentially one day develop into that player, but the key to doing so will be playing regular minutes during this important stage of his career.
Right now, this just can’t be promised at Liverpool, even if their regular pursuit of multiple trophies does mean that they tend to play more matches than most.
For that reason, there’s a growing sense that a loan move may suit the midfielder this summer.
While the Reds have accumulated plenty of plaudits for their business in terms of incomings across recent years, there’s also been an underrated ability to find good clubs for their young prospects to flourish too.
Last season, Harvey Elliott joined Blackburn Rovers and thrived playing in Tony Mowbray’s side. They like Liverpool often line up in a 4-3-3 formation, which suited Elliott and aided his eventual adaptability to Klopp’s side superbly.
He finished that season having played 41 league matches, scoring an impressive seven league goals whilst registering a further 11 assists.
Neco Williams is another example of a young club prospect excelling on loan.
The Welsh international joined Championship leaders Fulham in January and has quickly established himself as their first-choice right-back.
Manager Marco Silva favours an attacking brand of football that heavily relies upon wing-backs getting forward. Just like Klopp does at Liverpool.
This will be one of the main reasons why he’s excelling - he’s bagged two goals and two assists in seven matches. It’s also why Liverpool would have agreed on his loan to the London side in the first place.
For Jones, a year in a similar fitting environment could be hugely beneficial next season.
Aston Villa were one of several clubs rumoured to have been keeping an eye on him last summer, and now with Steven Gerrard at the helm, could that apparent interest potentially be reignited?
Villa under the former Liverpool star often play variations of a 4-3-3 formation, making them an ideal suitor, not to mention the greater guidance Jones could get from working under Gerrard for a full year.
Therefore if a window of opportunity opens up again for Jones to make this move, don’t be shocked to see Liverpool take it up.
