Arne Slot was full of praise for Curtis Jones after the midfielder was forced to play out-of-position in an unfamiliar right-back role against Everton on Wednesday.
The Liverpool head coach was forced to come up with a solution against the Toffees as Trent Alexander-Arnold and Conor Bradley remained sidelined through injury, and the Reds kept a clean sheet with Jones in the back four.
Neither Alexander-Arnold nor Bradley is expected to return any time soon, meaning Jones could be utilized at right-back a few times during the title run-in, a prospect which Slot is seemingly fine with.
“It is very useful to me,” Slot said. “[Liverpool sporting director] Richard [Hughes] and myself talk a lot about this season and next season and it is nice to have versatile players. Curtis is definitely one of them. He has a skillset, that he can defend and attack and that is why he can play in so many positions.
“When you give him a challenge, he enjoys it whereas some players would rather stay in their comfort zone. It isn’t his normal position but he is the type of player to take on the challenge. It is up to him, if I play him again [against Fulham] on Sunday, to show that consistency. He did well but Jarell did well in that position also so let’s see what decision we make on Sunday.”
Neville, though, neglected to hand too much praise to Jones and predicted that he would probably struggle against a stronger opponent than Everton. “I’m going to be quite ruthless here,” Neville said on Sky Sports.
“There’s no doubt that there are games where Curtis Jones could play right-back, but I think he may play Quansah on Sunday at Fulham purely because it’s away from home and the away of doing a lot more defending, you’re going to get a lot more pressure.
“But I think the idea that Curtis Jones can play fullback remains to be seen, because if he’s playing against PSG or the top teams, you will get found out if you’re not competent defensively. I know there’s a feeling in football that everyone can play right-back, but I’m going to push back a little bit and say it’s more challenging when it comes to the big games and playing against fantastic players.
“Will he be able to play at the Bernabeu and play against Real Madrid or City away or United away? I’m not so sure, he might have some problems, but he’s got the physical attributes for it and the ability on the ball, it’s just has he got the concentration, has he got the positional sense. He can work on it, but let’s see.”
