Much has been made of Curtis Jones’ Liverpool future of late, and his performance in the 4-2 defeat to Leeds United didn’t instil confidence that he is staying.
The Reds were 2-0 up at half-time in Chicago on Sunday evening, only to capitulate in the second half, conceding four times after changes were made at the interval.
Speaking after the game, Andoni Iraola gave an honest assessment of what he saw from his Liverpool team, saying:
“I think we learn a lot of things. Obviously it’s not the result you want but I think [it was] probably the most useful friendly we played – in a positive way in the first half and in a negative way in the second half. I think we’ve learned a lot from today and I think we can take good conclusions and solve some things.”
Jones had a poor game after being introduced, with both he and Ryan Gravenberch not covering themselves in glory, and journalist Mo Stewart wasn’t impressed on X, following a week that also saw him in a heated on-pitch exchange about the captaincy:
“We know not to read too much into pre-season, but in the context of everything that has been happening this week, it’s not been the greatest display from Liverpool’s number 17.”
Is Curtis Jones’ time at Liverpool up this summer?
It is easy to read too much into Jones’ performance, as Stewart alludes to, but he was hugely disappointing against Leeds, especially having been given the armband.
His body language didn’t exactly look positive throughout, and he could arguably have done better for two of the Whites’ goal,s not showing enough intensity.
At this point, a move to Inter Milan does feel increasingly likely, as the Serie A champions continue to show interest in him, and his head may have been turned.
Haven't loved Curtis Jones here…
Jones is 25 now and is no longer a young player who cannot afford to have poor games, even in pre-season, and Iraola’s opinion may have changed after what he saw in Chicago.
He needs to show a better demeanour in Liverpool’s next game against Monaco on Sunday afternoon (2:30pm BST), if he is even still a Reds player then.