Curtis Jones, the 22-year-old Liverpool midfielder, had a promising start to the 2023/24 season, continuing his form from the previous year.
However, his momentum was disrupted when he accidentally fouled Yves Bissouma, resulting in a three-match suspension.
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This setback opened the door for Ryan Gravenberch to step in and prove his worth, as he aimed to demonstrate that he was more than just an underperforming player from Bayern Munich.
Gravenberch’s recent performance against Toulouse seemed to justify the decision made by Hasan Salihamidzic and Oliver Kahn, who were responsible for bringing him to Bayern from Ajax.
On the other hand, Thomas Tuchel, the Bayern Munich manager, might be regretting some of his choices.
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Has Gravenberch replaced Curtis Jones?
The question now arises: what’s next for Curtis Jones? With Gravenberch excelling on the left side of the midfield, it becomes challenging to see how Jones can work his way back into the starting lineup.
This is a significant shift, as not long ago, dropping the Englishman from the team would have been unimaginable.
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Nevertheless, Jones recently delivered a solid performance, which aligns with Liverpool’s shift toward possession-based play.
He displayed his ability to maintain possession effectively, even though he had a slightly higher rate of losing the ball compared to his usual standards.
He completed 94% of his passes during a match in the right midfield position.
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While Jones brings crucial qualities on the pitch, it’s hard to argue for benching Dominik Szoboszlai in his place.
It appears that the left midfield position in the Premier League now belongs to Gravenberch, and Jones may find himself warming the bench for the foreseeable future in league matches.
The silver lining is that Jones will likely still get reasonable playing time in cup competitions and European fixtures. There’s also the possibility that an opportunity will arise in his favor once again.
Liverpool is my Religion and Anfield is my Church. 17th May 1996 the date I had my blood coloured red. The one you love the most you can not live without it and that is football to me.
