Centre stage for England's most in-form midfielder

After becoming a parent, after earning a place in the tabletopping team, after a stellar player-of-the-match performance in a high-profile game and after providing one of the Champions League highlights of the week, Curtis Jones has another milestone occasion in his sights: a first senior international cap for England.

- KARL MATCHETT

At the age of 23, it’s hardly before time. Indeed, given the discourse and dissatisfaction over the Three Lions’ midfield over the last few years, it might in fact seem odd to some that a Liverpool regular with almost 150 games under his belt might only now get a shot at earning a first cap.

It’s not that he doesn’t have a body of work in an England shirt behind him either. Jones was the goalscorer – officially, if not entirely purposefully – as England beat Spain to triumph in last year’s final of the Uefa Under-21 Championship. He was also in the extended England squad before Euro 2024 in the summer, cut along with teammate Jarell Quansah and others, without partaking in any of the warm-up games. And, most recently, he was included in the October squad, though that was only as a late call-up when others pulled out, before his own withdrawal due to the imminent birth of his child.

But after another handful of standout showings since then, a key performer as Liverpool moved clear at the top of both Premier League and Champions League, Jones is finally in the squad on merit – and from the beginning.

So what will England get from him? A bit of everything, in interim manager Lee Carsley’s mind.

“Curtis is an all-around player, plays in various positions. I highly rate him, he's one of the best I've worked with in terms of ability. He's shown consistency to play every week at a high level. He's shown he can score goals and assist,” he said in his squad announcement press conference.

But that undersells to a wild extent the level Jones has been performing at.

For a very basic example – and with the caveats that it’s still relatively few games and comparatively few minutes – there’s no midfielder in the Premier League with a better pass completion rate than his 95 per cent.