'Outstanding' Liverpool player is now getting further and further away from Arne Slot's starting XI - opinion

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Liverpool face a small dilemma in picking their starting XI for Saturday’s game against Bournemouth.

The Reds have so far had a relatively settled team throughout the opening five matches, with only three changes made in total across each line-up.

Clearly, Arne Slot has quickly decided upon which players are in his favoured group and which have work to do to make it there.

However, with Liverpool now facing their third game in just eight days, the Reds head coach might need to start being a touch more flexible.

Those previously on the fringes of the Liverpool squad might find themselves in with a chance of starting against Bournemouth.

One player who is perhaps still unlikely to get the nod, though, is Curtis Jones. As those ahead of him go from strength to strength, Jones is in danger of being left behind.

Curtis Jones out of favour at Liverpool

Initially, it had looked likely that Jones was about to really nail down a place in Liverpool’s starting XI. Of course, the season is still very, very young and there is a chance that the 23-year-old could still do that.

But from Jones speaking so positively about Slot in pre-season to where things stand today, something has gone really quite wrong.

Obviously, injury has played the biggest part in that. Had Curtis started the campaign with a full bill of health, then he may have been given the shirt ahead of Ryan Gravenberch.

As it so often has during his Liverpool career, though, Jones’ fitness got in the way. Gravenberch has since excelled in what would be the Scouser’s role, rendering him a little redundant.

READ MORE: Alan Shearer shares why he was impressed with Liverpool’s midfield against AC Milan

The rest of Liverpool’s midfield have earned plaudits, too. The latest have come after Tuesday’s win against AC Milan. Following the impressive victory, Stephen Warnock has hailed the partnership of Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister.

With those two dovetailing so nicely in the middle of the pitch, Slot is likely to want to keep the relationship going. That means playing together as much and as often as possible.

That is clearly bad news for Jones, who was left as an unused substitute at San Siro.

When Slot did opt to change his midfield in the very dying embers of the game, the Dutchman chose to bring Wataru Endo on for Mac Allister.

Could Jones change position for more game time?

Another factor that is unlikely to help Jones is that he didn’t exactly cover himself in glory during his first appearance of the season – a 15 minute cameo against Nottingham Forest last weekend.

Being his only game time so far, the academy graduate was always going to be rusty. But it was perhaps telling that Slot went to Endo and not Jones at the next opportunity.

Whether it’s fitness or something else, it seems apparant that the boss does not fully trust or rate Curtis. Hopefully more time on the training pitch can alter that, as Jones is an ‘outstanding’ player on his day.

One other solution for him could be to alter positions. With Harvey Elliott out injured for a little while, Liverpool don’t really have a back-up to Dominik Szoboszlai’s more attacking midfield role.

Perhaps Slot looking to Endo was simply an indication that with Elliott out, the head coach sees Jones as being Szoboszlai’s understudy. That could help over the coming games, but for Saturday, we don’t see Curtis getting much more joy.