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Curtis Jones has cut an exuberant figure throughout pre-season having embraced the changes under Arne Slot, and he’s insisted he is fit for the season after two niggles so far this summer.
After playing 59 minutes against Man United, Jones took his pre-season minutes to 134 across the three games to date.
He was withdrawn early against Real Betis and then missed a couple of training sessions, but came back into the fold for the quick succession victories over Arsenal and United.
Jones has revealed those hiccups he experienced were due to niggles in his ankle and knee, but he insists he will be “100 percent ready for the start of the season.”
Talking to LFCTV after the match in Columbia, South Carolina, the midfielder said: “I try to improve all the time. I feel I’m in a good place.
“I’ve had a little bit of an ankle and a knee issue and that is why I came off early in the Real Betis game.
“But in terms of [fitness], I could have played the whole game then yes, but I got a whack on my back and the head coach just said to me, ‘We’ve took you off more as a precaution and we don’t need to risk anything’.
“If you are saying, ‘Am I fit?’ [then] 100 percent I am ready for the start of the season.”
Liverpool have opted to be cautious with their players with less than two weeks until the Premier League opener at Ipswich, with Dominik Szoboszlai left out of the squad that faced United.
Slot will welcome back his seven remaining senior players to training on Tuesday, and he is eager to be able to work with them all at once without any fitness concerns.
Setting a target
After scoring against Man United, Jones acknowledged that it is an area of his game that he needs to continue to grow if he is to win a shirt in midfield week in, week out.
“That’s part of my game [scoring goals] I feel I can improve and get in the box more; I can score more goals,” he said.
“I can play deep and I can also play high. Football now has changed as it’s all about stats with goals and assists.
“I’ve got to try to improve my game and I think a big part of that is scoring goals, assist more and be involved as much as I can.
“We’ve got lads who have come in on the scene and made themselves a name by scoring goals. I think it’s an important part of the game.
“And if you can keep yourself in the game by scoring goals and the manager sees you as a guy who can do that and can affect the game then you keep your shirt, so that’s what I’m going to try to do.”
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