Curtis Jones struck just the right note in the Liverpool press conference ahead of the match against Toulouse. He has been forced to watch others make a strong case for his position while he serves his harsh red card suspension, and he acknowledged the competition in the midfield.
With the suspension only applying domestically, Jones was able to start against the French side, but even then it was Ryan Gravenberch who stole the show. He will certainly be a growing worry to the Liverpool academy graduate.
But Jones stressed that everyone will get chances. Moreover, everyone can learn and improve off each other.
“It’s as simple as ‘if you play well, you keep your place’,” Jones said. “Whoever isn’t having a good game, they can be changed. That’s the club, it’s a world-class club.
“I’m learning a lot off [the new midfielders]. They can probably say the same about me.”
As the most long-serving Jürgen Klopp midfielder left, it’s undoubtedly true that the other Liverpool midfielders can learn from Jones. There’s a reason he has started the season as first-choice, and he knows it. But it’s also true that he can soak up skills from others — and he has noticed a particular trait in Alexis Mac Allister.
“Mac Allister, the way he protects the ball I’ve never seen before. He has this thing where he receives the ball, sticks his bum out and you can’t get it off him.”
Jones is not the first person to spot this technique in action. During Euro 2020, Yaya Touré dedicated an entire article to it (we barely even need to cite the publisher — it’s peak Athletic content).
Touré claimed that use of the bum was a key part of his adaptation to English football. He was advised by Manchester City physios to strengthen in that area, and sticking it out to shield the ball bought back some of the key seconds in possession that had been lost through the transition to a faster league.
He also reeled off a list of players who have mastered the technique. Interestingly, it seems to have its uses across the pitch — Luis Suárez, N’Golo Kanté, John McGinn and Eden Hazard were all among those name-checked.
It appears Mac Allister can be added to that list. And this trait Jones has noticed might be part of what makes the World Cup winner particularly suited to his new Liverpool role.
While Suárez is always going to be a headline-grabbing comparison for those of a Liverpool persuasion, it is Touré himself who might be most relevant. A progressive midfielder by nature, he posted 20 goals and nine assists in 2013/14, but evolved into a more deep-lying presence by the time Pep Guardiola came to the helm. Now, Mac Allister seems to be on a similar journey under Klopp.
It’s clear that the Liverpool manager wants his midfield to contribute more in possession. As such, a ball-player like Mac Allister in the number six role is not simply a case of Klopp just working with what he has — it is an expression of a new vision for his team.
It’s all well and good having a technician in the role, but the player in question is playing a higher-risk game than anybody else. As the deepest-lying midfielder, losing the ball will inevitably lead to dangerous situations.
Mac Allister is not invincible in this regard, having been caught out against Brighton. But in that instance, he never got to the ball in the first place, after starting on the back foot. Once he takes it under his spell, he can channel his inner Touré (or Suárez, Hazard, Paul Pogba, Raheem Sterling… the list goes on) to make sure opponents cannot force a turnover.
Buying that time on the ball, he can then set Liverpool on its way. Klopp is already reaping the benefits of having a playmaker in this role, with Mac Allister making some eye-catching goal contributions, most notably his beautiful chipped assist to Darwin Núñez against West Ham.
Touré called the bum a ‘secret weapon’ in football. Now, perhaps Mac Allister’s rear end is the secret weapon that makes Liverpool 2.0 tick.
