Liverpool dressing room revelation shows how one player is becoming undroppable

When Trent Alexander-Arnold traipsed back to the dressing room at half-time on Saturday, the revelation of having suffered a recurrence of his knee injury was perhaps among the last things Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp would have wanted to hear.

With flu-stricken Joe Gomez having joined Conor Bradley in being unavailable for the home Premier League clash against Burnley, the Reds had been shorn of all of their obvious right-back options.

While Kostas Tsimikas was back on the bench after more than six weeks out, introducing a not fully-fit player in an unaccustomed position given Andy Robertson was making his first start at left-back in four months wouldn’t have been ideal.

Klopp, though, didn’t have to think twice about his preferred solution. And once again, Curtis Jones demonstrated his versatility and flexibility by filling the breach.

“We told Curtis what he had to do so we changed formation slightly and tried to make it as simple as possible for him, because it was first time in the life he has played the position (in the Premier League) and we didn’t want him to be the inverted right-back and have to think about these things as well,” explained the Reds boss later. “He did exceptionally well.”

Jones wasn’t entirely alien to the position having played at right-back in the League Cup win over Leicester City at Anfield back in September. Being asked to fill in at short notice for the second half of a finely-balanced top-flight game was an altogether different proposition, however.

The 23-year-old, though, rarely put a foot wrong, with his security on the flank allowing Harvey Elliott, who replaced Alexander-Arnold, to prosper when introduced on the right side of midfield.

Jones, of course, has been a major beneficiary of Liverpool’s switch to an inverted full-back approach last April, his tactical nous earning him a regular place on the left of the engine room triumvirate. Having forged a reputation at the Academy as a left-sided forward, it said much when earlier this season his defensive capabilities were highlighted by Klopp in allowing Darwin Nunez to prosper further upfield.

Indeed, it was intriguing that when the again-available Wataru Endo was brought in on Saturday as the number six to give Alexis Mac Allister the opportunity to push further forward, the Argentine started on the right edge with Jones retaining the World Cup winner’s more accepted slot on the left.

The ability of Jones to both keep possession and carry the ball – experience has improved his decision-making in that regard – is another example of his versatility. Only Virgil van Dijk has a higher pass completion percentage for Liverpool in the Premier League this season, while Mac Allister is the sole midfielder to have a greater rate of successful tackles.

Remarkably for a midfield regular, Jones has picked up only two cards in 27 appearances in all competitions this season – and none since his contentious dismissal at Tottenham Hotspur back in September.

From the November international break onwards, Jones has featured in all bar one of 19 Liverpool games and will be expected to make his 125th appearance for the Reds when they aim to strengthen their lead at the Premier League summit during the visit to Brentford on Saturday. And no matter where he plays, the Academy graduate has become a player on which Klopp can rely.