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Curtis Jones Future at Liverpool Becomes Major Summer Question
Curtis Jones’ Liverpool future was one of the most revealing threads in Anfield Index’s Media Matters, as Dave Davis and David Lynch reflected on the 3-2 defeat away to Manchester United.
The conversation began with the familiar frustration of another poor Liverpool performance, but quickly moved towards deeper issues around selection, squad planning and Arne Slot’s judgement. Jones, who is about to enter the final 12 months of his Liverpool contract and has been heavily linked with a summer exit amid reported interest from Inter Milan and Tottenham Hotspur, became a symbol of something bigger.
For Lynch, the issue is not simply whether Jones is good enough for Liverpool. His argument was that Jones should already be playing more often, particularly in midfield.
Lynch makes Jones position clear
Dave Davis noted that Jones had again been used at right back, despite Liverpool having other options in the squad. “It’s a bit bizarre that we’ve got Gomez and Frimpong and every week he’s at right back,” Davis said.
Lynch agreed that Jones had performed well in an unfamiliar role. “I thought he had another decent game, to be honest,” he said. “I think he’s done really well when he’s been playing at right back.”
That praise came with a wider point. Jones, in Lynch’s view, has been asked to do a job out of position while Liverpool continue to overlook him in the area where he could help most. Lynch said: “You’re shoehorning him into this position having barely used him in the last half of the season.”
For a player approaching a decisive contractual moment, that matters. If Jones is not being trusted in midfield now, it becomes easier to understand why his future is uncertain.
Arne Slot selection under scrutiny
Much of Lynch’s frustration centred on the contrast between Jones and Alexis Mac Allister. Lynch was highly critical of Mac Allister’s physical level, but his strongest argument was that Liverpool already have a ready made alternative.
“You do have a ready made replacement, by the way, in Curtis Jones,” Lynch said, before adding that Liverpool are “bizarrely” trying to “force out the club.”
That line was one of the most significant in the podcast. Lynch was not presenting Jones as a fringe player who might be useful. He was arguing that Liverpool may be allowing a solution to drift towards the exit door.
His verdict was even sharper when comparing the two midfielders directly. “He’s better than Alexis Mac Allister right now and he should be starting Liverpool games in midfield,” Lynch said. “For me, that’s pretty simple.”
The criticism of Slot was clear. Lynch said he wished “Arne Slot would recognise that,” and later described the different treatment of Jones and Mac Allister as “fascinating.” For Lynch, it forms part of a wider concern about Liverpool’s decision making.
Photo: IMAGO
Summer exit would raise bigger questions
When Davis referenced the growing expectation that Jones could move on, Lynch was direct. “I would say so. I expect him to leave, to be honest.”
That expectation makes the contractual situation even more delicate. With Jones entering the final year of his deal, Liverpool may soon have to decide whether to renew, sell or risk the uncertainty that comes with allowing a player’s contract to wind down.
Lynch believes the situation has been created partly by Liverpool themselves. “Well, that’s a problem Liverpool could have solved themselves, by the way,” he said when discussing the idea that Jones wants to play more frequently.
He added that if Jones had been playing every week at his hometown club, “maybe Curtis Jones would have got to the end of the season and thought, you know what, it’s my hometown club. You know, I’m playing every week at the highest level. I don’t need to go to move on and further my career.”
Instead, Lynch said Jones is “being pushed towards the exit door because he never plays.”
For Liverpool, this is not just a contract call. It is a football judgement. If Jones leaves this summer, particularly with Inter Milan and Tottenham Hotspur reportedly interested, the question will not only be what fee Liverpool receive. It will be whether Arne Slot and the club have undervalued a homegrown midfielder at precisely the moment they needed one.
As Lynch put it: “I think moving on Curtis, for me, is the wrong one, but it feels like it’s going to happen.”
