Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones has played his way into the first team under Arne Slot and the Reds manager paid tribute to the star after his recent England call-up
Arne Slot joked Curtis Jones is in flying form thanks to becoming a father – and he’s got nothing to do with that.
The Liverpool head coach believes the arrival of Jones’ daughter, Giselle, last month has inspired the midfielder. Jones, 23, has been in stellar form lately which has earned him a call-up by Lee Carsley for England’s upcoming Nations League games with a debut on the cards for the Three Lions.
He played a sensational pass for Luis Diaz’s opening goal against Bayer Leverkusen in midweek and is now pushing ahead of Dominik Szoboszlai in the midfield pecking order. The midfielder has not been affected by the sleepless nights associated with becoming a new dad.
Slot said:”With Curtis, maybe it was not me that did it. He became a father and I had nothing to do with that!
“Since the moment he became a father, he’s put in great performances. He also did it in the first few weeks we worked together and then his performances dropped a bit. Recently he’s been outstanding again.”
Slot admitted there were times that Jones spent too much time on the ball but he’s now shaking that off. He said: “He has a lot of qualities on the ball. He’s never afraid to do something special with it.
“Sometimes that led to situations where he touched the ball a bit too much as he was a bit over confident. But he combines that confidence with a hard work rate. You can trust him in defence as well.
“He’s quite complete. Now for him it’s all about consistency. The best players in the world show up every three days. That’s what he has to show now.”
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Diogo Jota will be absent for tomorrow’s clash with Aston Villa. Slot remained coy on the extent of the injury after the Portugal attacker went off against Chelsea last month when defender Tosin Adarabioyo fell on him.
The Kop boss said: ““We expect him back after the international break. The first weeks after the international break we expect him back.
“I always say in Holland there is privacy about this and I don’t know how it is over here. Like I just said, he will be back one or two weeks after the international break.”
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