Arne Slot Commends Midfielder Curtis Jones’ ‘Complete’ Play

Liverpool’s head coach, Arne Slot, offered considerable praise for midfielder Curtis Jones subsequent to his inclusion in the England squad by interim manager Lee Carsley. Slot remarked, “He has a lot of qualities on the ball. He is never afraid to do something special with it, but sometimes he touches the ball a bit too much in my opinion because he is so confident. But confidence is an important tool. He has an incredibly hard work rate and we trust him in defence. He is complete. For him now, it is all about consistency. The best players turn up every three days and that is what he has got to show.” This season, Jones has featured in 12 matches across all competitions for the Reds, contributing one goal and four assists. Slot, however, rejected the idea that he was a significant influence on Jones’ positive development. He quipped, “It is not me – it is since he became a father and I had nothing to do with that! You never know if that plays a part or not.” Slot added, “Since then [the birth of his child] he has been putting great performances in. In pre-season, I thought he was outstanding and he is outstanding again now.” He further commented that, broadly, player performance is often linked to the team’s overall playing style, stating, “In general, it probably has to do with how the team plays because every player that comes in has a good performance. That says a lot about the quality of the team and how they play together.”