Jurgen Klopp has spoken in the past about how he is happy to work with a small squad. With the permanent introduction of five substitutions into the Premier League next season, it should make it easier for the Liverpool manager to provide players on the fringes of the starting XI with regular time on the pitch.
"We build a squad in which everybody feels they are needed,” Klopp said in 2020.” That means we can sometimes be a little bit short in an 'A' solution, but we always have a solution,” he added.
In 2021/22, Klopp solved numerous selection problems thanks to the versatility of a quartet of players: Curtis Jones, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, James Milner and Takumi Minamino. That foursome each started at least one game in four different positions last season, at times filling gaps in the XI when required.
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Having signed up for his eighth campaign with the Reds, Milner will no doubt fulfil this role once again next season. Minamino has moved on to Monaco, while the future of Oxlade-Chamberlain appears yet to be decided as he enters the final year of his contract.
But what of the final member of the flexible group? Where Milner can afford to fill in when Klopp needs him as he approaches the end of his career, Jones needs to be playing regularly to continue his development and become the footballer Liverpool and many of their fans believe he can be. The young midfielder did make the most starts of the four men who played four positions, but he also suffered an injury hit campaign.
Jones’ first inclusion in Klopp’s XI was a somewhat surprising appearance in holding midfield for the Carabao Cup win at Carrow Road. The following three matches represented his one productive spell of the season, as he made a direct goal contribution (or two) against Brentford, Porto and Manchester City, starting in left midfield each time.
After recovering from an unfortunate eye injury and then illness, Jones started on the left of the front three in the absence of Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah for the FA Cup visit of Shrewsbury Town. Shortly afterwards, he was back in left midfield for five successive matches, starting with another meeting with Brentford, through to a 2-0 win over Leicester. But from there, the number 17 only started six of the final 27 matches, splitting his time on either side of the central trio as Klopp saw fit.
How much being moved about within the team affected him, only Jones will know. One thing that is clear, though, is that his underlying performance dipped last season, despite the team performing much better than it had in his breakthrough campaign of 2020/21.
Per Understat, Jones’ combined expected goals and assists in the league dropped from 0.25 to 0.16 per 90 minutes. To frame it another way, where he would have been due to directly contribute to one goal every four games two seasons ago, his rate moved out to one in six in 2021/22. That’s hardly disastrous, particularly at Liverpool where goals and assists aren’t a prerequisite from the midfield, but at this stage of his career Jones needs to be improving, not regressing.
He moved from side to side in the midfield in 2020/21 too, so that is not the reason for the dip taken by his attacking stats. Some of it will likely be down to differing tactical instructions from Klopp too, particularly as the sample sizes for each campaign are fairly small.
However, the fact remains that Jones’ three league goals have all been scored when playing on the left, and it may be in his interest to lock down the role as Thiago Alcantara’s deputy on that side of the team. They’re not the same style of player by any means, but with Harvey Elliott and Jordan Henderson competing for the berth on the right – and Thiago always likely to have a spell on the side lines at some point – Jones may get more opportunities on the left.
But whenever and wherever he gets a chance next season, the 21-year-old must do whatever he can to maximise it. If Liverpool sign a high-profile midfielder in 2023, Jones’ path to regular first team football will only grow more treacherous.
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