Curtis Jones is making an early impression on new boss Arne Slot during pre-season training.
The Dutch head coach is currently in the early stages of planning his best eleven for next season and Jones is staking a major claim to be heavily involved.
Jones, 23, was amongst the first group of Liverpool stars to report back to first-team training this week, after being left out of Gareth Southgate's final England squad for Euro 2024
The Liverpool midfielder had previously been named in the provisional squad, along with his Reds teammate Jarell Quansah.
Training is now ramping up at the AXA Training Centre, with many of Slot's unique coaching techniques already on full display
In one session, where the coaching staff were aiming to replicate pressing scenarios that players would encounter in a game, regular praise was heaped on Jones after impressing during the drills.
“Good timing, Curtis,” the staff said from the sidelines
Jones’s work rate was also praised during the session
Pressing, work rate and training levels were attributes held in high regard by former boss Jurgen Klopp and it appears it will go a long way during Slot's reign at the club, too
Klopp himself was also left impressed by Jones' work off the ball back in January, where he said:
"His pressing, counter-pressing, meanwhile, he sets the level, actually, how it should look.”
Slot is already looking at the long-term picture and is eager to set the standard with the finer details
Slot
“As a manager, you go to bed at night and think about what you are going to do and what you will tell the players,”
“That is not just the first day, it is the whole period.
“People look at us and think we only think about the tactics board but you have to think about the way you talk to the players. “
“It is not about convincing them, it is part of the job to think about the best way to get the best out of them; whether to approach them as an individual or as a team."
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