When 2021/22 FA Cup and Carabao Cup champions Liverpool sank Manchester City in the dying embers of the 2022/23 curtain-raiser, the Community Shield, optimism was awash on Merseyside that previous feats could be replicated, and the club could look to take it one step further after an impressive but bitter end to the campaign.
With little over a week of the term to go, Jurgen Klopp's Reds were on course for a historic quadruple, unseen ever before on English soil.
Liverpool trailed Pep Guardiola's City by an infinitesimal distance and had soared into the Champions League finale to exact vengeance against the imperious Real Madrid.
So bitterly close; the Cityzens completed a remarkable turnaround on the closing day of the Premier League season to overcome a two-goal deficit against, ironically, Steven Gerrard's Aston Villa and Los Blancos extended their dominance in Europe's most coveted competition to leave Klopp and co enmeshed in dejection, falling short despite taking 24 shots to the LaLiga giants' four.
Instead of avenging the demons of the previous year and adding to the ever-expanding collection of silverware under Klopp's tutelage, Liverpool have collapsed like a shack in a storm, and there has been no golden sky to instil any shred of hope for much of the campaign.
With Liverpool fifth in the Premier League after 33 matches, seven points behind Manchester United (who have a game in hand), a six-year stint in the Champions League looks set to come to an end, and to exacerbate the woes, coveted midfield target Jude Bellingham is seemingly an unattainable target following revelations last month that a move would be detrimental to the planned summer overhaul of the club.
This comes as a blow packing the punch of a champion prizefighter for the expectant Reds support, who have witnessed just one permanent senior midfield signing – the £25m acquisition of pass master Thiago Alcantara – since the inception of the 2018/19 season.
There is, however, hope yet that Liverpool can return to former vigour despite the ostensible early defeat in the Bellingham race, with an unlikely man – that of Curtis Jones – perhaps assuming the boots many had projected Borussia Dortmund's "generational talent" to don – as hailed by Raphael Honigstein.
Who is Curtis Jones?
22-year-old Jones has endured a somewhat tumultuous journey throughout his Liverpool career to date.
A boyhood Red, the versatile midfielder has scored nine goals and supplied 11 assists across 92 appearances since making his debut in 2019, and despite gleaning the whole gamut of trophies under Klopp's wing, has failed to cement a starting berth in the team with regularity.
This is not to bemoan his skill set, Jones is an exciting talent and a useful option for the ambitious Merseyside outfit, with the past two seasons hindered by injuries as he looks to stamp his authority and take the next step in his career.
However, with Liverpool exhibiting greater control over recent weeks and showing signs of the verve that had evaporated like mist on a windowpane for much of this stricken season, Jones' importance cannot be understated, having started the last six Premier League matches in succession – scoring a goal and assist apiece.
Currently valued at just £18.5m by Football Transfers, Jones has been a forgotten man in the eyes of many fans of English football, but his recent exploits indeed not just reaffirm his potential in this Liverpool team but also why he can be the unlikely figure to soften the Bellingham blow.
Is Curtis Jones like Jude Bellingham?
Recently, pundit Paul Merson said: "I quite like Curtis Jones, but he's not a name, is he? He's not a £60-70m player. I like him. I think he does a good job and he doesn't let you down. But he's not a superstar."
This might well be true, and it would be ludicrous to state that Bellingham's desired role at Anfield can be solely claimed by Jones, who has been a peripheral, if promising figure over the past few seasons, but with recent exploits starting to illuminate the skills that the £15k-per-week gem can bring to the table, he could yet play an integral role for his outfit over the coming years.
Take, for example, the similarities between the compatriots.
As per FBref, the €150m (£132m) valued Bellingham ranks among the top 5% of midfielders for rate of goals, the top 8% for shot-creating actions, the top 8% for progressive passes, the top 1% for successful take-ons and the top 7% for blocks per 90 – truly the all-encompassing arsenal of a midfielder destined for the very top.
Jones yields a similarly dynamic scope, while not so prolific in front of goal, the maestro ranks among the top 9% of positional peers for shot-creating actions, the top 5% for pass completion, the top 5% for progressive carries, the top 18% for progressive passes and the top 13% for successful take-ons per 90.
And with Liverpool's star boasting a match average of 2.41 tackles – the very same rate as the Yellow Wall's prized asset, it's clear he is growing into his skin as an assured and varied midfield outlet, hailed as the "complete #8" by one analyst & scout.
With Naby Keita, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and James Milner all looking set for a departure at the end of their respective contracts in a matter of months, it's a given that Liverpool will bolster the ranks with a torrent of acquisitions to replenish the centre of the park.
Captain Jordan Henderson and the aforementioned Thiago are also both 32 years old, and the youth of Jones could be imperative in cultivating balance and uniformity in the side, especially given the expected arrivals of several new faces.
Providing Jones with greater responsibility would also enhance the club's prospects of clinching the right signatures on the transfer front; with the 12-cap England U21 international's place in Klopp's squad complemented by the prodigious 18-year-old Stefan Bajcetic, the club can take meticulous care over their summer pursuits, emboldened by the knowledge that dynamic options already exist and can provide sturdy support when called upon.
He could be the "Gini-like" signing – as per 90min's Grizz Khan – Liverpool really need to steady the ship, with Gini Wijnaldum a resounding success at Anfield after flourishing in his industrious midfield role for the club, playing 237 matches and serving as a centrepiece to the triumphs of Klopp's reign.
Only time will tell if Jones can truly quell the concerns over the ostensible defeat in the race for Bellingham, but if his recent form can indeed be maintained, he could play a major role in his boyhood club's return to the forefront after a year littered with strife and suffering.