Curtis Julian Jones (born 30 January 2001) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Liverpool.
Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Full name | Curtis Julian Jones | ||||||||||||||||
Date of birth | 30 January 2001 | ||||||||||||||||
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
| |||||||||||||||||
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16:28, 14 April 2024 (UTC) |
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.
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]
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]
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]
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]
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]
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]
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]
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[a] | 1 | 1[b] | 0 | 34 | 4 | |
2021–22[55] | Premier League | 15 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4[a] | 0 | — | 27 | 1 | ||
2022–23[56] | Premier League | 18 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[a] | 0 | 1[b] | 0 | 23 | 3 | |
2023–24[57] | Premier League | 20 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 6[c] | 0 | — | 33 | 5 | ||
Total | 83 | 7 | 15 | 3 | 13 | 5 | 17 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 130 | 16 | ||
Liverpool U21 | 2019–20[53] | — | — | — | — | 1[d] | 0 | 1 | 0 | |||||
Career total | 83 | 7 | 15 | 3 | 13 | 5 | 17 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 131 | 16 |
Liverpool
England U21
Individual