Curtis Jones helped Liverpool come from behind to beat Leicester City on what was his 100th appearance for the Reds, with Jurgen Klopp getting in touch to mark the occasion
Curtis Jones revealed he received a text from Jurgen Klopp congratulating him on his 100th Liverpool outing.The Reds academy graduate was given his debut by the German manager and has now gone on to clock up a century of games. He marked the occasion by scoring as the Reds came from behind to see off Leicester City on Boxing Day.
Jones has gone from academy hopeful to first-team regular and has never been more influential than he is this season. The midfielder has enjoyed some stellar games and has continued to receive minutes under Arne Slot, who has done little to change the playing group at Anfield.
He told Match of the Day: “I came in then and normally text family and I saw a text off [Jurgen] Klopp saying ‘congratulations on 100 games and here’s to 500′. I was like what is he on about?’ I just checked then and I am proud. It was him who set up the team we have now.
The foundation was there and Arne Slot has carried it on.“It looks good but there are plenty of games to come. You can play a team at the bottom, middle or top and it is a hard game. It is about trying to win every single game and if we do that everybody knows what comes at the end.”
Klopp once said that Jones was “a role model for all our academy guys” with the German using a host of homegrown talents in his final year in charge, some of whom have continued to blossom in the first-team as the Reds chase a second Premier League crown.
Slot has made light work of replacing Klopp, which many thought would be a daunting challenge. Instead his team have been hugely impressive and the win on December 26 means Liverpool now sit seven points clear of second with a game in hand.
