Curtis Jones (footballer)

For other people named Curtis Jones, see Curtis Jones (disambiguation).

Curtis Jones

Jones playing for Liverpool in 2022
Personal information
Full name	Curtis Julian Jones
Date of birth	(2001-01-30) 30 January 2001 (age 23)
Place of birth	Liverpool, England
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) [1]
Position(s)	Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Liverpool
Number	17
Youth career
2010–2018	Liverpool
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2018–	Liverpool	83	(7)
International career
2016–2017	England U16 [2]	6	(1)
2017	England U17	3	(0)
2018–2019	England U18	10	(1)
2019	England U19	4	(0)
2020–2023	England U21	20	(5)
Medal record Men's Football Representing   England UEFA European Under-21 Championship Winner 2023
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16:28, 14 April 2024 (UTC)

Curtis Julian Jones (born 30 January 2001) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Liverpool.

Jones joined Liverpool's academy at the age of nine before signing his first professional contract with the club in February 2018. He made his first-team debut in 2019 and was a member of Liverpool's 2019–20 Premier League winning squad. He has also represented England at youth level.

Early life

Curtis Julian Jones ^[3]  was born on 30 January 2001 ^[4] in Liverpool, Merseyside, ^[5] and grew up in the Toxteth area of the city. ^[6] He is of Nigerian descent through a grandmother. ^[7]

Club career

Early career

Jones playing for Liverpool U18 in 2017

Jones joined Liverpool at the age of nine. ^[8] After making his U23s debut in January 2018, Jones signed his first professional contract on 1 February 2018. ^[9] He was named in Liverpool's squad for the Premier League match against Everton on 7 April and was included on the substitute bench without making an appearance. ^[10]

Jones featured prominently for Liverpool during pre-season ahead of the 2018–19 season. ^[11] Manager Jürgen Klopp praised his mobility and dribbling skills. ^[12] Jones made his first-team debut on 7 January 2019, in the 2018–19 FA Cup third round against Wolverhampton Wanderers. ^{[13] [14]}

2019–20 season

Jones made his season debut and played in his second competitive match for the club on 25 September 2019 in a 2019–20 EFL Cup match against Milton Keynes Dons. He was chosen as man of the match. ^[15] He then scored the winning penalty in Liverpool's penalty shoot-out victory against Arsenal in the EFL Cup. ^[16] He made his Premier League debut on 7 December, from the substitute's bench, against AFC Bournemouth. ^[17]

On 5 January 2020, Jones was part of a Liverpool team largely made up of teenagers and reserves that beat rivals Everton 1–0 at home in the 2019–20 FA Cup. Jones scored the winning goal – his first for the club – with a curling shot from 20 yards. ^[18] At 18 years and 340 days, Jones became the youngest goalscorer in a Merseyside derby since Robbie Fowler scored for Liverpool in 1994. ^[19] In the next round three weeks later, he opened the scoring in a 2–2 draw away to Shrewsbury Town, becoming the first teenager to score in consecutive appearances for Liverpool since Raheem Sterling in April 2014. ^[20] On 5 February 2020, Jones became Liverpool's youngest captain – at 19 years and 5 days ^[21] – when he captained Liverpool's youngest ever first-team starting line-up with an average age of 19 years and 102 days to a 1–0 home victory over Shrewsbury in an FA Cup replay. ^[21]

On 4 July 2020, Jones signed a new long-term contract with the club. ^[22] He scored his first league goal for the club a day later after coming on as a substitute in a 2–0 win over Aston Villa, latching on to Mohamed Salah's header to score past former Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina. ^{[23] [24]} On 22 July, Jones came off the bench against Chelsea for his fifth top-flight appearance in the 2019–20 season with Liverpool, thus qualifying for a Premier League winner's medal. ^[25] On 30 July, Jones was named the Premier League 2 Player of the Season for 2019–20 ahead of five other nominees. ^[26]

2020–2023

On 24 September 2020, Jones scored two goals in four minutes against Lincoln City away in the 2020–21 EFL Cup, and was named man of the match by Sky Sports. ^[27] He scored his first UEFA Champions League goal on 1 December in a 1–0 victory over Ajax, sealing Liverpool's progression into the knockout stages of the competition. ^[28] On 28 February 2021, Jones scored his first league goal of the 2020–21 season in a 2–0 away win over Sheffield United. ^[29]

Jones scored his first goal of the 2021–22 season on 25 September 2021 in a 3–3 away draw against Brentford. ^[30] On 28 September, he provided two assists and a key pass in a 5–1 away win over Porto in the 2021–22 UEFA Champions League. ^[31] Liverpool narrowly missed out on the chance to achieve a historic quadruple, coming second in the Premier League and the 2021–22 UEFA Champions League but winning both the EFL Cup and the FA Cup. ^[32] On 17 November 2022, Jones signed a new long-term contract with Liverpool until June 2027. ^[33]

On 30 April 2023, Jones scored his first goal of the 2022–23 season in a 4–3 win against Tottenham Hotspur. ^[34] On 15 May 2023, Jones continued his good form as a regular starter in the first team with a quick-fire brace against relegation threatened Leicester City in a man-of-the-match performance to guide Liverpool to a 3–0 away victory. ^[35] At the end of the 2022–23 season, Liverpool narrowly missed out on UEFA Champions League qualification. ^[36]

2023–present

In the 2023–24 season, Jones was a regular starter, however, a suspension and an injury occurring in October and November allowed Ryan Gravenberch to take his place for a number of games. ^[37] Commenting on his recent surge of confidence, Jones stated that he was “at the point now where” he was “in the team” and where he knew what he “[had] to do”. ^[38] Assistant manager Pepijn Lijnders attributed Jones’ impressive recent return to form to his “Scouse mentality”. ^[39] On 30 September, Jones was controversially sent off in a Premier League away match against Tottenham Hotspur for a foul on Yves Bissouma. The foul was originally awarded a yellow card by referee Simon Hooper but was upgraded to a red card after he was shown a still image of the foul by the video assistant referee. The decision was criticised by many pundits including Gary Neville and Jamie Redknapp, the former of whom stated: "I think generally, he's gone in genuinely but his foot slips on top of the ball. I'm not sure, I never am nowadays, I'm less sure about football than I ever have been but I don't think he's gone in with any malice." ^[40]

Jones scored his first goals of the 2023–24 season in a 5–1 win over West Ham United at the quarter-final stage of the EFL Cup on 20 December 2023. ^[41]

International career

Jones made his debut for the England national under-21 team on 7 October 2020 in a 3–3 draw against Andorra. ^[42] He scored his first goal for the under-21s during a 3–1 home win over Andorra on 13 November. ^[43] Jones was a member of the squad that were eliminated at the group stage of the 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship and scored in their last game against Croatia. ^[44]

On 14 June 2023, Jones was included in the England squad for the 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship. ^[45] On 8 July 2023, Jones was credited with the winning goal in the final against Spain after Cole Palmer's free kick deflected off him into the goal. ^[46] He was name the man of the match for the final, which saw England win the tournament for the first time since 1984. ^[47] His performances during the competition resulted in him being chosen by the UEFA Technical Observer panel for their team of the tournament. ^[48]

Style of play

Jones is regarded as a tenacious, silky and lively player, and was described as being in his best form in the second half of the 2022–23 season. ^{[49] [50] [51]}

Career statistics

As of match played 14 April 2024

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		EFL Cup		Europe		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Liverpool	2018–19 [52]	Premier League	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	—		1	0
	2019–20 [53]	Premier League	6	1	4	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	12	3
	2020–21 [54]	Premier League	24	1	2	0	2	2	5 [lower-alpha 1]	1	1 [lower-alpha 2]	0	34	4
	2021–22 [55]	Premier League	15	1	4	0	4	0	4 [lower-alpha 1]	0	—		27	1
	2022–23 [56]	Premier League	18	3	2	0	0	0	2 [lower-alpha 1]	0	1 [lower-alpha 2]	0	23	3
	2023–24 [57]	Premier League	20	1	2	1	5	3	5 [lower-alpha 3]	0	—		32	5
	Total		83	7	15	3	13	5	16	1	2	0	129	16
Liverpool U21	2019–20 [53]	—			—		—		—		1 [lower-alpha 4]	0	1	0
Career total			83	7	15	3	13	5	16	1	3	0	130	16

1. Appearances in UEFA Champions League
2. Appearance in FA Community Shield
3. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
4. Appearance in EFL Trophy

Honours

Liverpool

• Premier League: 2019–20 ^[58]
• FA Cup: 2021–22 ^[59]
• FA Community Shield: 2022 ^[60]
• FIFA Club World Cup: 2019 ^[61]
• UEFA Champions League runner-up: 2021–22 ^[62]

England U21

• UEFA European Under-21 Championship: 2023 ^[46]

Individual

• Premier League 2 Player of the Season: 2019–20 ^[26]
• UEFA European Under-21 Championship Team of the Tournament: 2023 ^[63]

References

1. "Curtis Jones: Profile". worldfootball.net. HEIM:SPIEL. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
2. "C. Jones". Soccerway. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
3. "FIFA Club World Cup Qatar 2019: List of Players: Liverpool FC" (PDF). FIFA. 5 December 2019. p. 7. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 January 2020. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
4. "Curtis Jones: Overview". ESPN. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
5. "Curtis Jones". Liverpool F.C. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
6. Kershaw, Tom (5 January 2020). "Liverpool's Curtis Jones: 'Growing up in Toxteth made me the player I am today'". The Independent. London. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
7. "England Risk Losing Jones to Nigeria: Here's Why". OneFootball. 13 October 2023.
8. Pearce, James (7 January 2019). "Jones on living Liverpool dream & his mentor during pre-season tour". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
9. Shaw, Chris (1 February 2018). "Curtis Jones signs first professional deal with LFC". Liverpool F.C. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
10. Reddy, Melissa (7 April 2018). "LFC starting XI v EFC: First squad involvement for Curtis Jones, 17" – via Twitter.
11. "Who is Curtis Jones, how old is he and when did he join Liverpool?". Talksport. 7 January 2019. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
12. "Klopp reveals Liverpool's plan for Curtis Jones". Liverpool F.C. 25 July 2018. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
13. "Wolverhampton Wanderers vs. Liverpool". Soccerway. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
14. Lynch, David (8 January 2019). "Liverpool teen Curtis Jones 'grateful and honoured' to make debut in FA Cup". Evening Standard. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
15. Johnston, Neil (25 September 2019). "MK Dons 0–2 Liverpool". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
16. Critchley, Mark (30 October 2019). "Liverpool vs Arsenal result: Prodigy Curtis Jones settles Carabao Cup epic in game that had it all". The Independent. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
17. Findlater, James (7 December 2019). "Fabinho's message for Curtis Jones after Liverpool youngster makes Premier League debut at Bournemouth". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
18. Wilson, Paul (5 January 2020). "Klopp's teenagers and reserves serve Ancelotti with a painful reality-check". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
19. Markham, Carl (5 January 2020). "Teenager Jones lights up Anfield with stunning derby winner". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
20. Johnston, Neil (26 January 2020). "Shrewsbury Town 2–2 Liverpool". BBC Sport. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
21. Johnston, Neil (4 February 2020). "Liverpool 1–0 Shrewsbury: Own goal by Ro-Shaun Williams sends young Reds through". BBC Sport. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
22. Williams, Sam (4 July 2020). "Curtis Jones signs new contract with Liverpool FC". Liverpool F.C. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
23. "Liverpool 2–0 Aston Villa: Victorious Anfield homecoming for champions". Goal. 7 May 2020. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
24. Rose, Gary (5 July 2020). "Liverpool 2–0 Aston Villa". BBC Sport. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
25. Doyle, Ian; Harris, Peter (22 July 2020). "Curtis Jones and the other 22 Liverpool players now guaranteed a Premier League medal". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
26. "Curtis Jones named 2019/20 PL2 Player of the Season". Premier League. 30 July 2020. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
27. Wilkinson, Jack (25 September 2020). "Lincoln 2–7 Liverpool: Clinical Reds crush Imps in Carabao Cup". Sky Sports. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
28. "Liverpool 1–0 Ajax: Jones fires Reds into the last 16". This Is Anfield. 1 December 2020. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
29. Bysouth, Alex (28 February 2021). "Sheffield United 0–2 Liverpool". BBC Sport. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
30. Conolly, Paul (25 September 2021). "Brentford 3–3 Liverpool: Bees earn a point after Curtis Jones screamer". GiveMeSport. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
31. "Six brilliant stats from Curtis Jones' MOTM display v Porto for Liverpool". Planet Football. 29 September 2021. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
32. Dunn, Carrie (29 May 2022). "Liverpool's quadruple, treble chase is over: Reds settle for double in 2021–22". Sporting News. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
33. Williams, Sam (17 November 2022). "Curtis Jones signs new long-term contract with Liverpool FC". Liverpool F.C. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
34. Carroll, James (1 May 2023). "Curtis Jones: Team spirit and belief secured dramatic Tottenham win". Liverpool F.C. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
35. Fisher, Ben (15 May 2023). "Curtis Jones double for Liverpool damages Leicester's survival hopes". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
36. "Mohamed Salah 'totally devastated' Liverpool miss out on Champions League football: 'absolutely no excuse'". TNT Sports. 26 May 2023. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
37. "Why Curtis Jones is not in the Liverpool squad vs. Luton". BBC Sport. 5 November 2023.
38. "Curtis Jones on West Ham victory, self-confidence and squad competition". Liverpool F.C. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
39. "How "Scouse mentality" fuelled Curtis Jones' turnaround – "He kept going"". This is Anfield. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
40. "WATCH: Liverpool's Curtis Jones sees red after controversial VAR call vs Tottenham". FourFourTwo. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
41. "Liverpool advance to Carabao Cup semi-finals with 5-1 win over West Ham". Liverpool F.C. 20 December 2023.
42. Jennings, Will (7 October 2020). "Injury-time equaliser denies Young Lions three points in Andorra". The Football Association. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
43. "England U21 3–1 Andorra U21". BBC Sport. 13 November 2020. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
44. "Croatia U21 1–2 England U21". BBC Sport. 31 March 2021. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
45. Veevers, Nicholas (14 June 2023). "England MU21s squad named for EURO Finals". EnglandFootball.com. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
46. Howell, Alex (8 July 2023). "England beat Spain to win Euro U21 Championship". BBC Sport. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
47. "Every U21 EURO Player of the Match". UEFA. 8 July 2023. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
48. "2023 Under-21 EURO Team of the Tournament". UEFA. 11 July 2023. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
49. Lusby, Jack (18 April 2023). "Jamie Carragher leads Liverpool fans' praise for 'Gini-like' Curtis Jones". ThisIsAnfield. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
50. Hincks, Michael (27 April 2023). "Curtis Jones is 'setting the tone' and proving Liverpool's fixes go beyond Trent Alexander-Arnold's new role". iNews. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
51. Blokhin, Aleksei (30 April 2023). "'He really helps us': Fabinho piles praise on resurgent Curtis Jones". Tribuna. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
52. "Games played by Curtis Jones in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
53. "Games played by Curtis Jones in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
54. "Games played by Curtis Jones in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
55. "Games played by Curtis Jones in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
56. "Games played by Curtis Jones in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
57. "Games played by Curtis Jones in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
58. "Curtis Jones: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
59. McNulty, Phil (14 May 2022). "Chelsea 0–0 Liverpool". BBC Sport. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
60. Hafez, Shamoon (30 July 2022). "Liverpool 3–1 Manchester City". BBC Sport. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
61. Poole, Harry (21 December 2019). "Liverpool 1–0 Flamengo". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
62. McNulty, Phil (28 May 2022). "Liverpool 0–1 Real Madrid". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 6 June 2022. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
63. "2023 Under-21 EURO Team of the Tournament". UEFA. 11 July 2023. Retrieved 17 July 2023.

External links

• Profile at the Liverpool F.C. website
• Curtis Jones – UEFA competition record ( archive )