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Topics: Liverpool, Africa Cup Of Nations, Football, Curtis Jones
Marcus Chan
Topics: Liverpool, Africa Cup Of Nations, Football, Curtis Jones
Liverpool star Curtis Jones could still play in the Africa Cup of Nations in a potential headache for manager Jurgen Klopp.
AFCON is held once every two years during the winter months of January and February.
Over the years, Liverpool have been hit with losing players like Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane due to their international commitments.
Whilst Mane is no longer a Liverpool player, losing Salah could potentially derail their ambitions of winning this season’s Premier League title.
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Now, it has been reported that Klopp could face another potential headache in the future.
Midfielder Jones, who has been putting in some impressive performances this season, is still eligible to play for Nigeria.
The 22-year-old qualifies to play for the Super Eagles through his grandmother.
With this year’s tournament already underway, Jones will not be partaking but could do so in future editions.
Jones has already represented England at U21 level but he is yet to make an appearance for the senior side, meaning he could still switch his international allegiance if he wanted to.
However, there has been no suggestion that the Liverpool star wants to switch his allegiance and he will want to break into the Three Lions’ first team with EURO 2024 on the horizon.
On the back of his performances this season, Liverpool assistant manager Pep Lijnders has heaped praise on Jones.
He said: “I have to say, his development goes hand in hand with the development the team went through, already since the end of last year.
“He always shows up, he’s this player who really leads with the ball and without the ball.”
Lijnders added: “He played an incredible [U21] Euros, for me he was the best player there. He is so influential for the team, with the ball and without the ball.
“It’s really cool to see how he shows up every time again. We are really happy and proud with him that he can give so much impulse every game again and again.”
Liverpool will be back in Premier League action this weekend when they travel to the Vitality Stadium to take on Bournemouth on Sunday afternoon.