Some of the biggest companies in the world have started in a random bloke’s bedroom – think of Mark Zuckerberg with Facebook or Bill Gates with Microsoft. For Liverpool’s Curtis Jones, he is hitting the jackpot thanks to his time in the spare room.
Since the birth of his first child Giselle four weeks ago, the Scouser has been spending some nights sleeping away from the master bedroom. Not because he is in the proverbial doghouse, don’t worry, but so he can conserve his energy a little better for matchday.
He has injected that energy into Liverpool’s midfield in recent weeks with several man-of-the-match, box-to-box performances and his steps into the scary world of parenthood have coincided with arguably his best form in professional football.
It is nearly six years since Jurgen Klopp handed Jones, then 17, a first-team debut in the FA Cup. A year later, he scored his first senior goal in unforgettable fashion as he curled in a match-winning strike to beat Everton at Anfield. He also captained the senior side at 19.
For Jones, now 23, this form has been long in the making. He joined the club aged nine and has always played with a maturity beyond his years and innate confidence. ‘Self-belief is not one of his weaknesses, but that is why he is who he is,’ said former Under 23 boss Neil Critchley.
Curtis Jones has been one of Liverpool’s outstanding performers this season under Arne Slot
The academy graduate burst onto the scene in 2017 with a stunning goal against rivals Everton
Jones headlined a young Reds side that embarrassed a near full strength Toffees outfit in 2017
Although there have been many highs, Jones has had a stop-start last few years due to injuries and an inability to consistently break into the starting XI. He played 38 per cent of Liverpool’s minutes last term and featured in an average of 20 of 38 league games across the last four full campaigns.
But this season felt different. Not quite ‘new year, new me’ but Jones viewed the changeover from Jurgen Klopp to Arne Slot as a chance to reinvent himself and cement a spot in the Liverpool team.
He hinted as much before a ball had even been kicked as he talked to reporters in the bowels of the Acrisure Stadium, home of the Pittsburgh Steelers, in July. ‘Arne is amazing,’ he told us. ‘This is the happiest I’ve been.’
Thriving for his club and enjoying his football more than ever before, still brimming with excitement and love after the arrival of his newborn daughter with partner Saffie – plus the strong possibility of a senior England debut to boot, having been called up again by Lee Carsley for the squad to face Greece and Ireland next week. It’s been quite the six weeks for Jones.
‘With Curtis it is maybe not me who helped it, because he became a father – and I had nothing to do with that!’ said Slot on Friday. ‘You never know if that plays a part or not but since the moment he became a father, he started putting in great performances.
‘In the first few weeks that we worked together in pre-season, I was like, “Phwoar, quality player”, then his performances dropped. But since the moment he became a father he was outstanding again.
‘When he has the ball he is never afraid to do something special with it. Sometimes that has led to a situation where, in my opinion, he touches the ball too much as he’s a bit too over-confident but confidence is an important tool and he combines this with an incredibly high work rate.
‘And we can trust him in defence. So he is quite complete. Now it is all about consistency. To have a good performance once in a while, that is not a big accomplishment. The best players in the world show up every three days.’
The midfielder found it hard to earn a consistent spell in the team under Jurgen Klopp
Jones raised a few eyebrows with his effusive praise of Slot during the Reds’ pre-season tour
If those words were not glowing enough to strengthen our argument on Jones, here is interim England boss Lee Carsley: ‘Curtis is an all-round player, plays in various positions and is a player that I highly rate. He is one of the best players I have worked with in terms of his ability.’
And if you’re still not sold, his statistics also paint the picture of how all-action Jones is taking a giant step forward. He has as many assists already this term as the last two campaigns combined, and is just three short of his overall tally of goals plus assists from last season.
For Reds stars who have played more than 200 minutes this term, Jones has covered 11.7km per game, which is more than any of his team-mates.
Why and how has Jones improved so much, then? Firstly, those running stats might stem from the fact he cut short his summer holiday to be at the AXA Training Centre on day one of pre-season – due to the Euros and Copa America, he was one of very few senior faces.
Even when he was on his holidays, Jones was working. When taking a break from acting as photographer for influencer partner Saffie at the Beverly Hills Hotel, he met up with Reds legend Steven Gerrard in Los Angeles and took advice on how to take his game to the next level.
He also spoke to basketball icon LeBron James in London at an exhibition match starring the LA Lakers star. The American is an idol, along with Gerrard, and studious young man Jones spends a lot of time listening to podcasts with ‘King James’ and other sporting heroes.
Those podcasts might be worth a relisten in his headphones when up late with his baby daughter, who attended her first match at Anfield last weekend as Jones created Mohamed Salah’s winning goal with a driving run through midfield.
As discussed earlier, fatherhood is clearly a factor for Jones’ uptick in form. Pressed further on it by Mail Sport on Friday, Slot replied: ‘Are you a father? You might get so much adrenaline (from it). I know there is no better feeling than becoming a father.
Jones spoke to basketball icon LeBron James at an exhibition match in London last summer
Slot’s arrival has seen a number of Liverpool’s young players improve their output this term
‘That can help in the short-term with your performance. But that is more of a joke… it is more about team tactics.’
Slot would say that, of course – but the Dutch boss deserves a mountain of praise for the output of Jones among others.
Ibrahima Konate is the player staff have been most impressed with in terms of his willingness to absorb new information in detailed analysis sessions. Luis Diaz has seen his goals per game figure leap from 0.25 last season to 0.60 this term, while Ryan Gravenberch is excelling as a No 6.
Jones, who spent his day off this week at the Cube games arcade – based on the ITV show – in Manchester with team-mate Joe Gomez, is benefitting from the new style of play. He describes it as ‘more me’ as he gets on the ball more.
And the final factor worth mentioning is England. While many Liverpool fans are not bothered by the national team, players still view it as a huge honour and Jones is believed to have come away from a recent camp with a smile on his face thinking he was ready for the senior step-up.
His last call-up to Carsley’s squad was cut short due to the birth of his daughter but the 23-year-old is now poised to make his debut next week. Jones is no longer the fresh-faced teenage boy who broke through in 2019 – he is now ready to be a main man at Anfield.
