Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has heaped praise on a Liverpool player who he was instantly impressed by after seeing him in training.
The midfielder joined the Reds from Arsenal in 2017 before eventually departing for Besiktas in 2023.
Oxlade-Chamberlain featured alongside many Liverpool icons who were crucial to their first Premier League title victory in 2020.
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Jordan Henderson, Sadio Mane, and Mohamed Salah were all at Anfield during his spell, but the Englishman has now admitted he was left impressed by another player while honing his craft on Merseyside.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain of Liverpool during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Liverpool FC at Etihad Stadium
Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images
How Curtis Jones impressed Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
Speaking to Ben Foster on the Fozcast this week, Oxlade-Chamberlain spoke about how Curtis Jones left an instant impression with the confidence he showed when promoted to the senior side.
He said: “And I think the last example I can remember that did it really well was Curtis Jones. When he first came into the Liverpool team, we all knew what Curt was like with the young boys. He’s confident, he’s sort of the leader of the group.
“But then when he came in with the first team with Jordan Henderson, James Milner, he still had that about him. And when we trained, he still had that confidence to try a step over and try something. But then when the older boys would do a bit of old school treatment on him, he’d react really well to it and listen and stop and take it on board and pull them and say, what do you mean by that?
“And I think that goes a long way with older players. And then you start finding the older boys want to come and help you and look after you and make you shine.”
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A local lad, Jones made his Premier League debut in December 2019, featuring in a 3-0 win over Bournemouth.
Now 24, the Englishman has made 192 appearances, scored 19 goals and provided 22 assists for the Premier League holders.
Curtis Jones told where he must improve
He has made 13 appearances so far this season, but has been in and out of the starting eleven.
Micah Richards believes Jones is not good enough defensively.
Curtis Jones of Liverpool looks on during the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 League Phase MD3 match between Eintracht Frankfurt and Liverpool FC at Frankfurt Stadion
Photo by Rene Nijhuis/MB Media/Getty Images
He said at the end of October: “Now [compared to last season] it’s completely different.
“They’re trying to go with Curtis Jones, a very good player, but he’s not got the defensive qualities of the other midfielders… It’s energy in midfield why Liverpool were so consistent.”
Jones has been injured recently and missed the win over Aston Villa before returning to play 11 minutes off the bench against Real Madrid.
Richards’ verdict seemingly isn’t shared by everyone, however, with Jay Spearing calling the midfielder ‘exceptional’ and saying he has played his way into Slot’s eleven.
Liverpool face a high-scoring Manchester City this weekend, and Slot may prefer a more experienced, defensive-minded three of Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis MacAllister and Dominik Szoboszlai.