Why letting Curtis Jones leave Liverpool could see Arne Slot's approval rating plummet

[p]After coasting to the Premier League title in the previous campaign, it was clear relatively early on in 25/26 that something was amiss.[/p][h2]Slot's Midas touch deserted him[/h2][p]A defence that had been virtually impenetrable during [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/slot-arne/lnG1OUjk/"]Arne Slot[/a]'s debut season was leaking goals left, right and centre, and particularly later in games.[/p][p]Far from being able to turn the tide, the Dutchman's Midas touch had deserted him, and the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/liverpool/lId4TMwf/"]Reds[/a] seemingly ambled from one disastrous performance and result to the next.[/p][image alt="Liverpool's final position in the 2025/26 Premier League" id="9b5b5964-bd0c-476b-b117-7907e962b125" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="b71a8e5a-655f-448d-bb64-234567437997" original-width="1200" original-height="1200" /][p]By the end of the campaign, despite securing Champions League football at the 11th hour, 12 defeats, 53 goals conceded, and just 60 points earned - the third worst total of a defending Premier League champion - told its own story.[/p][p]That, coupled with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/salah-mohamed/08FBycgB/"]Mo Salah[/a]'s extraordinary outburst halfway through the campaign, where he effectively called out his manager, put a real dampener on what could've been another season where the club built on their previous successes.[/p][h2]Curtis Jones to Inter?[/h2][p]Far too many players didn't perform at their best level, and a number of players at the Anfield outfit didn't really get the chance to build up a rhythm and stake their claim for a regular starting spot.[/p][p]One of those was 25-year-old [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/jones-curtis/OnQz9w8h/"]Curtis Jones[/a].[/p][p]Despite the records showing that he will have made 48 appearances in all competitions during 25/26, only 17 of those were for a full 90 minutes.[/p][image alt="Curtis Jones' heat map vs Chelsea" id="75aa7476-ef89-433a-a4c4-b7f9ad87a4a0" credit-line="Opta by Stats Perform" guid="87a8ad4c-8b58-4d17-8ffe-01d69816b7be" original-width="1080" original-height="1080" /][p]In some of the biggest matches across the season, Jones was handed a paltry amount of time on the pitch, including just 11 minutes against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/real-madrid/W8mj7MDD/"]Real Madrid[/a], and only five minutes against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/manchester-city/Wtn9Stg0/"]Man City[/a].[/p][p]It's perhaps with that in mind that it's being reported in Italy that Liverpool sporting director, Richard Hughes, is negotiating with his [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/inter/Iw7eKK25/"]Internazionale[/a] counterpart, Piero Ausilio, for the transfer of the combative midfielder to the Nerazzurri.[/p][h2]Dyed in the wool Red[/h2][p]Given Jones' connection to the Reds and the area, having been born in Liverpool and staying at the club for his entire youth and professional career, it seems an odd decision from Slot and the powers that be to consider allowing him to leave.[/p][p]For example, despite playing significantly fewer minutes than a number of his teammates, only [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/gravenberch-ryan/Y5aFd8V4/"]Ryan Gravenberch[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/van-dijk-virgil/U59RNqOr/"]Virgil van Dijk[/a] made more ball recoveries than the midfielder's 187.[/p][embed guid="794fbd1c-4203-49a9-9156-c831e40adb9a" url="https://x.com/CurtisJones/status/2055670915925487827" social-type="twitter" /][p]281 one-on-one duels attempted saw him just outside the top 10 Reds players in this regard, with his 52.67% success perfectly acceptable when sat alongside the output of his colleagues, only a few of whom posted a better output.[/p][p]Of the outfield players who made at least 50 tackles across the 25/26 season, only [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/wirtz-florian/0Q5gjImi/"]Florian Wirtz[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/kerkez-milos/2H46JAgp/"]Milos Kerkez[/a] had a better percentage than Jones' 59.62% success.[/p][h2]Best passer in the Liverpool squad[/h2][p]Even Jones' 37 clearances and 24 interceptions put him in the top bracket on both counts in the Liverpool squad, which demonstrates his clear will to win and desire to always give 100%.[/p][p]Considering his combative nature and the physical edge to his game, just four yellow cards in his appearances across all competitions arguably show some restraint and speak of a player who can often play right on the edge, but doesn't have to resort to being dirty to gain an advantage.[/p][image alt="Curtis Jones pass map - Premier League 2025/26" id="c0df701c-bec7-4338-8b28-43da71b551bb" credit-line="Opta by Stats Perform" guid="dc1423af-f24b-4ccb-ba97-ff29b53a7a0d" original-width="768" original-height="576" /][p]His 762 passes that ended in the final third were Liverpool's fifth-best showing in 25/26, whilst his 92.73% pass completion success overall was the best in the entire Reds first-team squad.[/p][p]When one considers that Jones' 2,366 passes (2,194 of which were successful), were only bettered by five players (Wirtz, Gravenberch, Van Dijk, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/konate-ibrahima/QJlbDbQe/"]Ibrahima Konate[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/szoboszlai-dominik/dERKtqoo/"]Dominik Szoboszlai[/a]), all of whom were selected on a more regular basis than the 25-year-old, it makes Jones' showings even more creditable.[/p][h2]Does Jones want to leave or is he being forced out?[/h2][p]All of which begs the question as to why the Merseyside outfit would even be considering allowing the player to move on in the first place, unless he's expressed a clear desire to leave because of a lack of first-team opportunities.[/p][p]It's hard to imagine the latter scenario being the case, given that his allegiance has never been in any doubt whatsoever. [/p][p]Even if one took the view that, perhaps, his teammates had the edge on him in terms of the quality of their natural game, the facts and figures don't largely support that.[/p][embed guid="76a290e3-6023-4c8e-b055-b6a5306a753c" url="https://x.com/CurtisJones/status/2045904781688930807" social-type="twitter" /][p]Therefore, the only real conclusion that one can draw is that he just isn't fancied by Arne Slot, which, of course, is the manager's prerogative.[/p][p]At a time when the Dutchman's approval rating appears to be at an all-time low amongst supporters of the club, however, moving on one of their own in Jones will likely prove to be another hugely unpopular decision, and could be the straw that breaks the camel's back for the Anfield faithful.[/p][image alt="Jason Pettigrove" id="d1cb702b-6ea6-470b-907d-920a073fbd44" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="52d37e61-7cc4-4910-affc-4a87b8cce2e3" original-width="1200" original-height="380" /]