David Lynch: Arne Slot “Missed an Open Goal” on Curtis Jones Future
In a revealing moment during Media Matters on Anfield Index, journalist David Lynch strongly criticised Arne Slot’s handling of Curtis Jones, calling the manager’s lack of public backing a clear misstep. With the Liverpool midfielder entering the final year of his contract and uncertainty surrounding his future, Lynch described Slot’s approach as “missing an open goal”.
Slot was asked directly in a press conference whether he wanted Jones to stay at the club. His response offered little reassurance. As Lynch recounted, “He didn’t give anything that even remotely sounded like he was [keen for Jones to stay]. He just said that kind of stuff goes on behind the scenes.”
For Lynch, this was a clear failure to publicly support a player who has come through the club’s academy: “When I asked the question, I thought, this is such an underarm for him. He can so quite easily just go, ‘Yeah, he’s the Scouser in the team, he’s really important to us, we’ve developed him and we want him to stick around,’ and he didn’t.”
“Truly depressing” outlook for academy graduate
Lynch was unequivocal about what this silence implies: “That’s so, so indicative about where this is going. The fact that Curtis was open to that interest and kind of wanted to go… the fact that we’re barely seeing anything of him at the moment.”
The situation is, in Lynch’s view, moving quickly towards a disappointing outcome. “I think the writing’s on the wall here personally… Maybe I’m jumping the gun a little bit, but that’s the sense I get — that Curtis Jones isn’t going to be at Liverpool for much longer.”
A deeper concern for Liverpool’s identity
Beyond just the playing staff, Lynch suggested that losing a homegrown Scouser like Jones would have wider significance for the club. “I think it’s important to have Scousers in your squad,” he said. “You could replace him with an excellent player and sort out your homegrown issue… but I wouldn’t celebrate losing Curtis Jones. I think it would just be depressing.”
Lynch added, “To not be able to sell to a local lad the role that you’ve got for him, playing kind of 40-odd games a season and make it worth his while — I just can’t believe it’s come to this really.”
Transition or turmoil?
With Liverpool already facing a summer of uncertainty, Lynch pointed out that the situation with Jones could signal another disruptive window ahead: “We’re talking about a transition season. Well, if Curtis Jones has to go as well, how many players are going to go again this summer?”
He continued, “There’s already a list of four or five that are there… and if you add Curtis into that, it’s turned into another one of those summers.”
Slot’s public silence, according to Lynch, has only deepened concerns. “I always say I don’t like to focus too much on what he says in press conferences, but he’s missed an open goal there… quite clearly that’s a choice as well, because he’s not that fussed about whether Curtis Jones stays or not.”
