Liverpool have been told they won’t win anything this season if Curtis Jones starts at the base of midfield this season.
Pundit Steve Nicol was speaking on ESPN FC about Liverpool’s midfield conundrum.
Jurgen Klopp would have been well aware that change was coming in the centre of the pitch for this side this summer.
Four midfielders were set to depart at the end of their contract when last season ended.
Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai were lined up to replace the likes of Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
However, the huge impact of the Saudi league has been felt at Anfield and Jordan Henderson and Fabinho have departed now too.
That’s left Liverpool short in midfield once again, with Romeo Lavia the main candidate to replace two Champions League-winning stars.
However, it could mean that some of the club’s young players are given a bigger role this season.
Nicol has said that if Curtis Jones starts regularly as a holding midfielder for Liverpool, they won’t win anything next year.
The 22-year-old was brilliant last year and starred at the Under-21 European Championships.
But Jones has rarely played as the deepest midfielder in Liverpool’s system and that may be a problem.
Liverpool won’t win anything this season if Jones starts
Speaking about Liverpool’s prospects next year, Nicol said: “If Liverpool want to be pushing for the Premier League title or the Champions League, any of the big prizes, they need someone who is going to be playing now and who’s going to do the job.
“They can’t wait on a [Romeo] Lavia getting better or hoping that [Curtis] Jones can fill in. That doesn’t get you Premier League titles or Champions Leagues.
“It’s a big problem right now.”
Jones is set for a big season at Liverpool and will be hoping he starts as many games as possible.
However, he’s not a defensive midfielder and it would be a huge challenge for him to play in that role.
That’s especially when you consider that Trent Alexander-Arnold could make a permanent shift into midfield.
Whoever plays alongside him needs to make up for his lack of experience in that area and Jones wouldn’t be the most suitable candidate.
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has been forced into four transfers he didn’t want
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has overseen several transfer exits this summer that went against his initial wishes. The German is rebuilding his first-team squad at Anfield and has overseen six major departures since the end of last season.
Fabinho completed his £40million move to Saudi Arabia on Monday night to follow Jordan Henderson and Roberto Firmino to the Middle East. Naby Keita, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and James Milner have all departed Anfield on free transfers too.
The six were staples of Klopp’s squad and contributed significantly to the club’s Premier League and Champions League triumphs. But Klopp did not actually want to wave goodbye to several of those players.
Vice-captain James Milner – now at Brighton – said farewell to Liverpool after eight years but Klopp had wanted him to stay an extra season. Ultimately, however, the club’s hierarchy did not offer him an extension.
He said: “Jurgen Klopp is a pretty good manager and the fact he still wanted me here and said I can do a job is pleasing. The club obviously made their decision on that. It’s nice I’m in a position where the manager wanted me to stay, but it got to the point where I got to terms [with it].”
The Liverpool boss didn’t get his wishes with captain Henderson either, who had been expected to replace Milner as the team’s elder statesman. He instead joined Steven Gerrard’s Al-Ettifaq for £12m plus add-ons last month.
Klopp said upon the skipper’s exit: “Hendo knew exactly the situation – that we wanted to keep him.” Liverpool green-lighted the 33-year-old’s move because Klopp does not like to keep players who want to leave. He added: “It was not about me convincing him [to stay], it was about me reacting to what was happening.”
The Athletic also report that another veteran midfielder – Fabinho – was originally in Klopp’s plans for the 2023-24 season. It is claimed the 56-year-old did not want to lose the Brazilian but allowed him to go after Al-Ittihad agreed to pay £40m for him.
And Klopp also wanted Firmino to stay, too. The Reds’ former No 9 opted not to sign a new contract and has instead has since joined Al Ahli, explaining Firmino said: “It is time, unfortunately. The cycle here is ended and I understand it is time to go.”
Klopp admitted he was a “little bit surprised” by Firmino’s decision. Several months earlier, he had confirmed in a press conference of the centre-forward: “Yes, I want to keep him at the club.”
But despite the exits of such experienced key figures, Klopp has insisted he is “really optimistic” and “excited” about the future of his team. Romeo Lavia could soon be the third midfield addition of the summer after Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai.