'He was cold': Former Arsenal player says Liverpool had one of the best youngsters he's ever played against
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Liverpool’s academy is one of the best in the world, with the Reds producing some of the best players the game has seen throughout their history.
From the eternal captain Steven Gerrard to current right-back superstar Trent Alexander-Arnold, Liverpool’s academy has shown that it can develop some of the best players in football who can go on to change the game forever.
Although not every player that comes out of Liverpool’s academy ends up becoming a world-beater, there’s enough success stories to suggest that the Reds know what they’re doing when it comes to developing the next generation.
And former Arsenal star Folarin Balogun has named a Liverpool youngster as one of the best he ever faced.
Curtis Jones hailed by Balogun as ‘cold’ during their academy days
Speaking to JD Sports, the USA international singled out Curtis Jones for being one of the best players Balogun faced off against during his academy days with Arsenal, with the Liverpool midfielder since breaking into the Reds’ first-team.
Regarded as a star in the making during his younger years at Liverpool, Jones has become the latest success story from the academy with the midfielder making well over 100 appearances for his boyhood club and becoming an instrumental figure in the senior squad.
And for Balogun, Jones was one of the best the AS Monaco striker faced during his developmental days with Arsenal, with the midfielder taking his game to the next level after being promoted from the academy to Jurgen Klopp’s first-team plans.
Balogun said when asked which youngster was the best he faced off against: "There's loads, I played against Curtis Jones at Liverpool, he was cold. But yeah, there's a lot of people I think, we were all friends and we would see each other at tournaments and we would follow each other's journeys.”
Jones knows he can push his game at Liverpool even further
It’s been a frustrating first season under Arne Slot for Jones, with the midfielder suffering from injury and failing to fully gain the Dutch coach’s trust in the 23-year-old’s bid to maintain his status at Liverpool.
Yet as we have seen from Jones across the seasons, the midfielder has a canny ability to push himself up to a new level when needed, and the same could happen at some point this year under Slot.
Indeed, Liverpool’s midfield options are not as deep as they were last year, and Jones could sniff an opportunity if one of Alexis Mac Allister or Ryan Gravenberch start dropping their performances levels.
