Curtis Jones says he doesn't shy away from the challenges and pressures that come with being a local boy. Photo: John Super
From the yard of the old Curtis Jones Elementary School, you can see the stone liverbirds on the Royal Liver Building peeking out from behind the roof of the new Hilton Hotel, and if you turn in the opposite direction, you can see the gothic tower of Liverpool's Anglican Cathedral. .
We are located in the L1 postcode, in the heart of the city and the area where Liverpool's outstanding attacking midfielder grew up. «I always joke with Trent [Alexander-Arnold] that I'm a real scouser: I'm L1,» says Jones. “These are the roots of Liverpool. You can't be Liverpool anymore. I'm proud to come from such a place.”
He is at the elementary school in St. Vincent de Paul to bring in some new soccer balls and meet his former teachers. He also personally covered the cost of children's sports equipment for the new school year. But we're here mainly because he felt it was the right place for his first major interview with a national publication — to give us an idea of where he's from.
Jones personally covered the cost of sports equipment for children at St. Vincent de Paul Primary School for the new school year. Photo: John Super
He is Liverpool's best local boy, having grown up just a short walk from the Royal Stadium. Albert Dock, the Cavern Club and all other places besides football that have made the city famous. He is a confident, charming young man who has taken a meteoric rise as a teenager. He also often returns to his core mantra: Elite football is hard and it takes a lot of dedication to find your place.
“There has been a lot of talk around me since I was a kid,” he says. “Expectations have always been high. I'm good at it and I understand that it won't always be an easy ride. I know there will be blows and blows. I am a child who is ready to take on this. I like it all. I understand what was said — both good and bad. I go out there and be myself all the time. The position I'm in right now is that I can show the real me. I'm just trying to be at the stage where I play all the games and stay consistent. We score more goals and assist.
He had a terrifying last season as he went on a 12-game streak and scored three. He then led the summer in winning the European Under-21 Championship, the country's first at that level since 1984. He made his first team debut for Liverpool at the age of 17. He scored the winning goal in the Merseyside derby at the age of 17. 18. But he's also been unlucky with injury, and at 22, he feels it's time to show the world what he's capable of.
“Yes, all this is good, but I want more,” he says. “I always knew [as a junior in the national team] when I played against them [other European teams] as a younger player that I was above that. Now you are talking about the Euro, where the best players aged 18 to 22 participate. I don't want to say that I'm too good, this is the level at which I always knew that I was superior. I liked the under-21s and our [England] team were [players] in the main teams of their clubs. But now I want to reach the final of the Champions League and the World Cup and win even more Premier League. This is where I see myself.”
Jones (far right) was the leading England under-21 international. winning the championship this summer Photo: Getty Images/Sam Barnes
He was Liverpool's prodigy from a young age, being noticed by the club at the age of six, as his high school team coach Ian Hastie reminds him of when they reminisce. At Liverpool's academy, he was promoted through the age group to play alongside the older boys. «I've always been a kid who succeeded,» he says. “People from the outside said: “Oh, he is 15, and now he is in the under-16 team.” He currently plays for the under-18 team. [Steven] Gerrard is his coach.» I got into the first team, I was not hidden, but there was not much talk.
In other words, this steep rise slowed down as he adjusted to gaining a place in Jurgen Klopp's team, which quickly became European champions, and then the Premier League.
“The pressure that came with it I used to improve myself. I worked out more in the gym. I ran. I knew that I could show everyone on the field. When they were kids, they didn't see me play. I would say to everyone: “Oh yes, I scored [in training],” but it got to the point that they didn’t know anything. They just knew that I played in the first team. I think everyone was thinking, «He can't be that good because he doesn't play games.» It's always been in my head. I knew what I needed to do to play more games.”
We quickly came to the point of being a scouser for a Liverpool team and not for any other team, the best the club has had in 30 years. This brings with it a unique pressure. It can be said that Liverpool is the world's biggest football brand and at the same time is exclusively a local club. Every fan in the city feels that they are interested in this, and a local player can be a conduit for this. Jones is two first team games away from the 100 mark. He and Alexander-Arnold are the first homegrown stars to reach that number since Gerrard, Jamie Carragher and Michael Owen.
As Klopp himself has said in the past: “People dream of big transfers”, and there is an opinion that there is always a better option than a boy from the academy. However, Jones was one of six England internationals (and two Liverpool players) included in the UEFA Euro squad this summer. Is his Spanish, German or Italian colleague ahead of him?
He philosophizes rather than resents this pressure. “I feel it too,” he says. «I won't say that [we] are being blamed, but sometimes I feel that because I'm a local boy, there might be a feeling, 'He's not good enough, we need to bring in someone else.' This is the situation I'm in and I can't change it. I don't shy away from it. I'm ready to take on the challenge. If anyone doubts me, you will only see me more. I'm not going to prove them wrong. The most important thing I do is prove myself right.”
However, he is also keenly aware that he is, in his own words, «living the dream». His former PE teacher Peter Allen has an Anfield season ticket in the Centenary Stand and loves to watch his old student play. Jones' former assistant Mel Wenton reminds him that she still has a video of him performing songs at a school assembly. It's great to watch them talk about how a city school doing their best under difficult circumstances launched a career as an elite football player.
A lot has changed at Liverpool since last season following the unexpected departures of Jordan Henderson and Fabinho. Jones sees himself as a No. 8 in the truest sense of the word – an attacking, devastating midfielder. There is no doubt that midfield is very attractive right now, even with the arrival of three new players and now Ryan Gravenberh, who is on his way from Bayern Munich.
“Things can always change,” he says, “but I feel there is a big gap [in the team]. I support myself. Anyone could compete with me — five guys, ten guys — and I have the same thing in my head. I train with them all the time. I see how they play. I know what they have to give, but I know how much I have to give and I still have time. I have to be the best in the position I am in. I have to prove all the time that I'm good enough to keep my shirt.»
The impact on him of certain injuries — accidental in nature — was underestimated. Last season after the Community Shield, he was diagnosed with what experts called a «stress reaction» in the ankle and shin of his right leg. If he continued to play, it would develop into a fracture, and then into a gap. «It's a strange case because there were times when I felt like I could play, but when they checked the scan, it still wasn't right,» says Jones. “I just want to play. Any pain for me is okay, I will play. As long as I know it won't lead to anything more.»
A finger accidentally caught in his eye while training in November 2021 caused severe damage and required extensive treatment that kept him from doing anything more than stretching for several weeks to protect the healing process. In his first week of training this season, he slipped on the block and the ball hit his leg so hard that his ankle sprained. But now he is back in shape and ready to win a place in the team.
Outside of football, he remains very close with his older brother – “only 13 months apart, we are like twins” – and with his mother. Both have their own busy lives. His brother is a carpenter, and his mother, as always, works as a nurse. Curtis has offered her support, but with a shrug, he says she simply refuses to quit her job. As a child, his mother took him to training every day. “If it wasn’t for them,” he says, “I wouldn’t be where I am.”
Jones says who feels that there is a big gap in the Liverpool team and is ready to fight for a place with anyone. Photo: John Super
He's back in shape and ready for Sunday's game against Aston Villa. He already has a Premier League medal and a Euro summer medal. He looks at the schoolyard and tells me that he spent as much time there playing basketball and cricket as he did football. As a child, he learned basketball by watching the NBA on television, and now winks and says that there is no one on the training ground who can come close to his level.
His self-confidence is high. is beyond doubt. But it is necessary to achieve what he has, and this is always limited to one promise — that this player is ready to do his job. “As a child, I always had a head. I know that I am good enough to be the first team on any team. But it got to the point where I really realized that I have a chance around 16. That's when I got a different type of personality. I saw my purpose and what I needed to do. Until the last game, I will always say that I still have something to give.
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