Curtis Jones vows to fight for his place in Liverpool amid another midfield chase

Curtis Jones insists he is not worried about midfield reinforcements arriving at Anfield this summer and is ready to fight for his place at Liverpool.

“I don’t care (about new acquisitions). I am a confident boy and I have the support of the staff. If they turn around and say they think I should leave or be loaned out, then there are options that I already know about,” Jones said.

“But it’s not something we’ve talked about at the club and it’s not like they said, ‘Look, we’re going to buy him, maybe you should leave, maybe you should do this or that’.” I haven’t heard anything, so I’m here to play.’

The 22-year-old made his first Premier League start since October against Chelsea on Tuesday night and lasted 79 minutes before being taken off.

And Jones felt he had done a good enough job that night to regain the confidence of Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp.

The 22-year-old midfielder has struggled with injuries all season

Jones believes he has the support of Jurgen Klopp and his staff, even as new signings arrive

“Did I give the manager something to think about? Yes of course. I wouldn’t really say it was a game where I could get on the ball and really dribble and shoot.

“I thought they (Chelsea) had a lot of possession. It was a game that was more about winning back the manager’s trust,” said Jones.

‘All right, all right. Until he lost a little bit of power, but that’s completely normal now,” Klopp added when asked how he thought Jones was playing.

Jones’ season has been disrupted by injury, with the midfielder playing just 13 games and playing less than 400 minutes in the first team.

Having been involved in 92 matches in the past three campaigns, a freak eye injury and stress injury to his right shin kept Jones out for most of the campaign.

And the Liverpool midfielder revealed he now has a limited training routine and as a result was left out of the squad for Saturday’s game against Manchester City.

Specialists have advised Jones to train and play less in an attempt to solve the problem.

“I’m on a schedule where now a specialist is on board and I’m only allowed to train on the field for four days and then I have to have a day off. So if the day off coincides with the game then there’s not much I can do,” said Jones.

Jürgen Klopp has made signing a top quality midfielder a priority at Liverpool this summer

Jones chases down Chelsea’s N’Golo Kante during the midfield battle at Stamford Bridge

“It’s a stress response to the bone (towards the back of the calf/ankle). Still the same (from earlier in the season). It’s just going and coming back.

‘It’s frustrating. It’s something they’ve said is something they’ve never seen before. It came back three times, so yes, it was a tough time.

“I think it’s just about how much I’m on the pitch but at the same time it’s hard because if I never go to training how can the manager choose me? So it’s hard. We shall see.’

Jones admitted the pain from the injury has subsided, but the caution is still there. And for now he’s just happy to be back as Liverpool look set to finish their season on a high.

“At the beginning of the season I came back fit and I was ready, thinking I would come here and set a goal for a certain number of goals and assists, but over time that changed.

“Now I’m about to keep myself fit and I just want to play the game again, so that’s what I’m doing now,” said Jones.

“The injury will always be there, but the staff handled it well. It was a tough one but they handled it well and now I’m back. The fun is back now too so I’m happy.