I think the difference between those other mentioned players and Elliott/Jones is their Manager, Klopp. He is amazing with his players.
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Brewster, Ibe, and Woodburn also came under the management of JĆ¼rgen Klopp, so Iām afraid thatās not a very good argument thereā¦
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Totally agree. He will struggle at some point, even Gerrard did in his early days, but he hasnāt yet. Jones is a brilliant player, such awareness and maturity for his age. I donāt get the doubters. A blind man on a galloping horse could see heās better than Ibe, Woodburn and the others mentioned
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If Jones had broken through the Ajax academy, or hit the first team at a hipster Bundesliga club, people would be demanding we spend Ā£60m to get him here.
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Yeah, getting some 35 odd mil for Brewster and ibe, terrible!
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Yes, absolutely, good point. I just meant itās perhaps debateable whether or not he has played enough games yet at senior level to be counted as a full member of the squad, as one of the guys you can trust to do the job. But I do anyway, I think heās a āguyā this season, and not just a youth player weāre easing in.
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Interesting you use Ajax as an example - everyone was fawning over Gravenberch before and after our game at Anfield.
Jones was the far better player in the game and scored the winning goal.
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Also if he had broken through at Ajax his goalscoring record would insane - same in Germany as well. I donāt even think thatās the best part of his game (his intelligence and composure are) but I cannot imagine him not being one of of the best young player in the Dutch league or Germany.
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I think Jones was also quite clearly struggling with the physical aspect of itā¦I dont mean in the games but in the recovery. Something that was exacerbated by a muscle injury he picked up on international duty. Heāll be a year stronger and more robust this season and so expect him to get a lot of games in CM and, in the context of this thread, reduce our need to go out and buy a new CM.
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Yep I noticed this, he always has huge ice packs on his knees. I think his minutes are lower because they are being managed rather than anything else.
There is this huge misconception we need to replace Giniās minutes, which whilst they were vast they are not actually insurmountable.
Fabinho + Henderson played 1900mins or so at center backā¦ They wonāt next seasonā¦
Thiago / Jones will get another 500 each or soā¦
And then you have Keita, Oxlade and Elliot.
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its almost if by 20, you are not performing like Mbappe or Haaland, you will never be good enough. The reason for us having a squad is to allow big potentials like Curtis and Elliot to have the time to develop, they might come good in a season, they might only do so in 3. Klopp and the coaches are not Gods but they have shown to be really good in identifying potential. So if they decide to keep Curtis and Elliot around and sold the other youth, then we better believe that there is something different in these 2. As for whether they will be world class, then its a he say she says kind of situation. For me, I think they are good enough to learn from the first teamers and play in a few games this coming season.
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Thatās an issue Gerrard had, if I remember rightly, he consistently had issues with recovery in his teenage years. Iād be very surprised if Jones doesnāt overcome those issues in a similar way (and probably quicker given how much better sport science is now).
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It used to be the case that for International āAā matches e.g. the World Cup, players had to be released 14 days before the start of the competition. However in FIFAās most recent issue of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players it is all a little bit vague.
If however the 14 day rule still applies, then any player called up would depart on the 26th December meaning that they would also miss the games against Leicester (28th December) and Chelsea (1st January).
With regards to the Arab Cup, as it isnāt included in FIFAs Menās International Match Calendar 2020-2024 Iām not at all certain that we would be obliged to release Salah.
Perhaps @Kopstar can advise?
Itās a rumour and itās unreliable/nonsensical. Why would we want a player who āhas his heart set onā Juventus?
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Grealish to City for Ā£100m? Just makes a joke of the competition with oligarchās bottomless money pits. We have to rely on Klopp to work miracles every year
But itās FIFA Arab Cup, officially a FIFA event.
I think āworking miraclesā massively undervalues our own team.
Our first 11 is essentially a dream team, has been for a few seasons. You can make arguments for us having the best goalkeeper, centre half, fullbacks, defensive mid, midfielder, wingers in the world.
Itās not a āmiracleā theyāve done well.
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Sure. Please first transfer Ā£1,000 on account of costs.
Actually, itās Friday afternoon and getting an urgent injunction from the High Court today has worn me out. Canāt be bothered to give anything else my attention, unless itās in a pint glass.
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So really the question is whether Kloppās holding us back? After all, he hasnāt won the League Cup. The fraud.
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Yeah but before/without Klopp they were a top ten keeper, a seemingly top class CB who hadnāt been tried at the highest levels, a fullback relegated from the Premier League without even being their best player, a full back everyone was convinced couldnāt defend whilst being destined for midfield, a decent midtable winger who could maybe step up to be part of a top team and a winger doing OK but not spectacularly at a CL qualifying Italian side. Itās not like these players before Klopp would have featured much in a conversation over a best in the world 11.
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