Curtis Jones weaved past one, then weaved past another in what was another impressive run of play from the England international in the Three Lions’ 5-0 win over the Republic of Ireland.
The Liverpool midfielder has hardly been short of praise since his return to the Reds’ starting lineup. Indeed, Micah Richards labelled him ‘extraordinary’ after a goalscoring display for Lee Carsley’s men against Greece.
“Curtis Jones was extraordinary, that’s one of the best England debuts I’ve ever seen,” the former Manchester City star spoke on The Rest is Football podcast.
“And what I mean by that, when you go to England sometimes the pace is a little bit slower and you sort of play the easy pass.
“If you look at Curtis Jones, his body positions, he was always available for the ball every time.”
The Merseysiders return to Premier League action at the weekend with a Sunday trip to the south coast to face strugglers Southampton.
Rest assured that Jones won’t have hurt his chances of maintaining his spot in Arne Slot’s starting XI.
Curtis Jones impresses against Republic of Ireland
One particular run from the No.17 stood out as England put the sword to Heimir Hallgrimsson’s outfit.
The Liverpool Academy graduate evaded the persistent press of Brighton and Hove Albion’s Evan Ferguson before cutting inside Festy Ebosele and laying off the ball.
Yet another demonstration of just how difficult it is to dispossess the young midfielder.
You can catch the clip below, courtesy of @stehalliwell_ on X:
What do the stats say about Jones’s England performance?
The numbers, as you might expect, very much back up the view that the 23-year-old is exceptionally reliable on the ball.
Jones secured an impressive 96% pass success rate (71/74 played) in amongst 80 touches as England secured promotion in the UEFA Nations League, returning to League A.
Sofascore handed the Liverpool man a 6.8/10 score for a competent, if not quite mind-blowing, latest international outing.
As far as we’re concerned, there’s nothing there to suggest he shouldn’t be holding on to his place ahead of Dominik Szoboszlai in the starting XI come the weekend.