16 Jul 2026 18:49:21
As I've said time after time, CJ's preference has always been to stay at the club. The issue was never money, more starts in his preferred position was the issue. Something Iraola has told him he will get. Apparently, Iraola is a lot more personable with the players than Slot was and has been asking him stuff about the city.
With VG mentioning Rayan below, I've heard whispers from Bournemouth's end and the fee will not be as high as some think. If, and that's a big if, we decide to move forward. This and the Barcola rumours gathering pace, suggest earlier rumours of Gakpo leaving. Look more and more likely.
16 Jul 2026 19:15:13
Cheers, Fields. Glad to hear it. I'm confident Iraola is exactly the kind of manager who can get the most out of Jones. The kid has bag loads of experience, and there are not many kinks to iron out of his game. Looking forward to seeing how he improves under Iraola.
16 Jul 2026 19:22:42
Hopefully, Iraola convinces Jones to stay, as not only do I think he's a very good squad player, we can't afford to lose any more HG players right now.
With regards to Gakpo, I've always been convinced we'd happily sell him this summer.
It's just a matter of whether we can find 2 more forwards. His stock seems to be really high in the market despite a poor season, and with Spurs seriously interested, there's a good chance we can get around to £70m for him, which we'd be crazy to turn down.
16 Jul 2026 19:38:36
Keeping Jones and possibly signing Rayan! This is all great news, thanks for sharing.
16 Jul 2026 19:56:10
Brilliant, TF, thank you very much mate. ?
16 Jul 2026 20:00:09
Great info, Fields, cheers bud.
16 Jul 2026 20:05:35
I don’t expect Iraola to get any more out of Jones than either Klopp or Slot managed to. There just isn’t a top class footballer there, he’s our own version of Jessie Lingard and nothing more. He gave it the big one last season far too often, firstly, with that crap about Slot’s style suiting him better (and if Slot’s style of football suits him better than Klopp’s, then Iraola’s definitely won’t), then that guff about getting stuck in more, which is laughable given that he’s one of the weakest, most tackle shy midfielders I’ve seen.
He’s certainly not good enough to start in a midfield pairing against any even remotely decent opposition.
16 Jul 2026 20:09:20
36 days until the season starts. Think it's a big week to get some signings in the late stages.
16 Jul 2026 20:11:29
Great update, thanks!
16 Jul 2026 20:23:26
Thanks the Fields. Rayan and Barcola is a pretty mouthwatering prospect. Both can also play as CFs too, so gives our front line lots of pace and firepower... You have me excited now!
16 Jul 2026 20:26:19
Cheers, Fields.
So on the wings that we should have Barcola, Rayan, Rio, Munoz, if we sell Gakpo.
16 Jul 2026 20:34:42
That's great news to hear. It might be less so by Liverpool supporters, but I think a lot of times people forget just the human and relationship aspect that can really have a huge influence on a team. That's one of the things that excites me so much about Iraola.
I think he's going to build strong relationships, rebuild our culture similar to what Jurgen created, and have players willing to give it all.... Which last year seemed anything but.
16 Jul 2026 20:56:22
I'd keep Jones n Elliott, 2 decent squad players who love the club. We need as many decent players as we can. We were caught short last season.
16 Jul 2026 21:03:02
Jones wouldn't get in any top 6 team. He should be moved on ASAP. Very limited player.
16 Jul 2026 21:09:33
Tanks for the info.
16 Jul 2026 21:19:53
If Iraola can't coach Jones to release the ball quicker and more forward passing, no one will. At least one way or another, this is Jones' time to shine and impress. This could be a big opportunity for him, as I can see Iraola really liking Jones.
16 Jul 2026 21:38:30
Give Jones and Ellioott one more season or till January. Sell Macca and get a top DM.
I think we'd be sorted with that for midfield, to be honest. Focus efforts on getting a DM, winger(s), RB and an affordable experienced CB.
16 Jul 2026 21:50:36
100% agree with vv, another manager who might unlock Jones' talent.
Agree, he's a Scouse Jesse Lingard, it will always be. This manager will get the best out of him, and imo it won't happen.
16 Jul 2026 22:15:11
Joao Gomes and Jones in midfield will be decent.
16 Jul 2026 22:42:47
We want academy graduates in the squad, but only if they're good enough to be first 11 starters! Why? What's wrong with getting our kids to fill out the squad? Sure the odd Fowler, Trent or Stevie will come along, but the reality is that for a team trying to win the Premier League and European Cup, getting squad players from the academy is an achievement.
Getting one for the first 11 is a once a decade thing. Jones is well good enough to fill out the squad, loves the club and wouldn't be on a huge wage. He is the least of our problems.
16 Jul 2026 23:16:25
"Joao Gomes and Jones in midfield will be decent." For Acrington Stanley perhaps. Wake up for God's sake!
16 Jul 2026 23:39:24
Shanklys Ghost, Fields said 3 days ago 'We have now spoken to Wolves about Joao Gomes. The deal should be easy enough to do. He is very interested in the move.'
As far as I am aware we haven't been told anything different.
16 Jul 2026 23:49:55
Shankly, you don't think Gomes and Jones in midfield would be decent? I disagree.
17 Jul 2026 00:05:06
Isn't Gomes signing for Villa? Don't we know this already?
17 Jul 2026 00:39:55
Idaho, all sounds very tinpot to me.
17 Jul 2026 01:18:00
Jones strikes me as a confidence player. Needs to feel he has his manager's support to get the best out of him. I do think at the start of last season we saw a player who was trying to progress the ball quicker and to play more forward passes. Then he fell out of favour and that was that. Regressed back to safety first. Now, you might argue he should overcome that, but every player is different.
I'm still hoping Andoni will be able to get him to come out of his shell. He might not ever be a starter for us (though there were quite a few times last season when I wondered why Macca was starting ahead of him), but it's a squad game, and if he can be a good bench option then he makes us stronger.
17 Jul 2026 01:26:24
Gomes has signed for Villa!
17 Jul 2026 05:50:18
He is simply not consistent enough or good enough for a top 4 team. If he was playing for another club, we would not be looking at bringing him to the club, so let him go.
Great that he is local, but he wants regular first team football so clearly needs to leave. Would happily keep him as a squad player, but he doesn't seem to want this.
17 Jul 2026 07:00:49
Depends what regular football means. Curtis's minutes equated to nearly 32 full 90 minute appearances last season. I reckon he's realistic enough to know them kind of minutes again this season would be realistic.
I'd imagine he just wants more of them to be in MF which is fair enough. Think his relationship with Arne was also a factor. Hopefully him and Areola have a better one.
17 Jul 2026 08:31:27
I would have thought he had a good relationship with Klopp, but he couldn't unlock this talent he has. How many managers have to try before people realize he isn't that good.
17 Jul 2026 08:47:41
Well, when you say how many he has only had two in fairness, and Klopp left when he was 23. Up to that point, niggly injuries and the fact he was up against top players like Fabinho, Thiago and Hendo, and later Grav, Macca and Dom, naturally limited his minutes. Like I said earlier, there's no shame not been starting every game ahead of players like these. They are top top players.
With Slot, he has played fairly regularly, and Slot seemed to rate him. It just seemed frosty between the two. I rate Jones, when I see the crazy amounts people would be dying to pay for players like Fernandes or Wharton (two good players in fairness) while writing off a very good academy player, I can't get my head around it. As I said, we all want, or should want, more of them in the squad.
17 Jul 2026 08:54:01
Very true, Fatwallet. There seem to be huge expectations building already that Iraola can transform any number of players.
Some have never really kicked a ball for us, others have never shown any consistent form despite being with us in Curtis' case as a first team hopeful for eight years.
While his coaching credentials are good, and I'm hopeful he will improve a few players, we've got to be realistic, he's not a magician.
A lot will depend on if we get off to a good start, and how other teams under new coaches start off. If City, Chelsea and Utd get off to good starts, it could be a tough season. If they falter, then there's no reason we couldn't finish top five again.
He really needs Isak and Wirtz to show their value. We were massively short of goals last year and have to average close to two a game to be in with a chance.
17 Jul 2026 09:13:13
I saw enough of Jones jogging back last season, to no longer care if he goes or not. I saw a Steve McMahon interview on Curtis, on YouTube and 100% agreed with him.
17 Jul 2026 09:16:01
My viewpoint on CJ is that he is a good squad player. What it really boils down for me is, will I be devastated if he leaves? No. Will I be happy to see him go if a good offer comes in? Yes. Will I be unhappy if he remains at the club if no suitable offer comes in for him? Also no.
He is one of those that can add to the odd game, but won't be a game changer. I think he is the kind of player that will always be around no matter the club he is at, and will only be seen as a top player if he drops down club level, as he may become a big fish in a small pond.
If he was to stay, I would not be clambering for him to start games; more so bring him on if we are winning and seeing out the game and need to slow it down. My biggest issue with him is that, if he is not slow and ponderous on the ball, he runs forward and has a silly shot instead of finding the right pass (I know he has had the odd quality assist, but not enough for a midfield in my eyes).
17 Jul 2026 09:35:35
On Joao Gomes. We spoke to the club and the player but that's as far as it went it seems with him basically signed for Villa now. Its odd we didn't see it through but IF we are trying to bring in Barcola and Rayan, then it kinda makes sense as that would cost somewhere in the region on £160m - £180m.
See you have a new username Potassium. Mad that you use that particular element as your username, as its soft just like yourself mate
17 Jul 2026 10:11:28
I like Curtis. He has all the tools to be a very good player but someone needs to get into his head because his attitude is all wrong.
He said in an interview last season that he likes to keep the ball rather than pass it to another player who's not as comfortable on the ball as he is, and that's his biggest problem.
He needs to realise it's a team game and you need to trust your teammates.
You can't not pass the ball to someone because you think you are better than they are. Imagine if every player thought that way.
If he stays then Iraola needs to have some serious talks with him and let him know in no uncertain terms that attitude is just not good enough.
17 Jul 2026 10:51:04
With Curtis, and others like Harvey, it's not that clear what their best position is. His only really good game last season was Inter away, where he sat in a six, did a lot of work. I doubt he wants to play there every week and do the graft. Equally, we generally don't play that way, certainly not at home.
He's never done much in a more advanced role, and he's nowhere near displacing Szob, so basically another rotation season. I can see him at right back filling in for Connor when he's injured tbh.
17 Jul 2026 11:11:50
Our squad is very thin.
Particularly for the amount of games that need to be played.
Without losing anyone, we need 4/5/6 players in.
Not every member of the squad is gonna be a top notch player, so I don't understand why there's an expectation that will be the case.
It never has been previously.
We need numbers, and we need options.
Jones should have played much more mins last year than he did, considering MacA's form.
Obviously the system/tactics didn't help anyone.
17 Jul 2026 11:29:52
Good point, Ginger.
17 Jul 2026 11:47:00
Thanks as always for your insight, Field!
I think Barcola and Rayan in with Gakpo going out would be fairly good business given the market (providing we don't spend £200M+ on the pair).
Gakpo did well at the WC but certainly struggled starting most games last season, and I don't think we can rely on him, unfortunately.
17 Jul 2026 12:14:56
The fact there's a debate about Curtis on here when other clubs have the likes of Rodri and Rice in centre mid shows how far off we are from a team that can compete. Even our own supporters have fairly low standards and expectations.
Grav and Macca are probably bigger issues as they're our starters and Curtis is a squad filler.
If we can't get them two ticking next season, then we're in for a really rough ride. Can Iraola kickstart either of them? Can they form the double pivot in a 4231?
{Ed001's Note - the other teams have them as starters, we are debating Jones as a back up, so compared to the likes of Merino, Lewis-Skelly etc, Rodri and Rice are not a relevant comparison.}
17 Jul 2026 12:45:59
It's apples and oranges to compare Curtis to Rice or Rodri. They're first choice starters. Nobody here is suggesting Curtis should be for us.
17 Jul 2026 12:55:49
I don't think there's a debate about him being a back up Ed, it's what he's always been. The issue seems to have been he wants more guaranteed game time, which is unlikely.
It's good news anyway that Szob has signed a new deal today as he can be in the conversation as a top quality midfielder who we can build around.
17 Jul 2026 13:16:13
Iraola seems to be saying/doing all the right things, to the extent that I wonder if the club briefed him on the criticism Slot was getting for a perceived lack of commitment (justified imo).
Not a bad thing by any stretch, just seems to be very front and centre of his media communications so far.
{Ed001's Note - it is the way he has always worked mate, it might be that the club have suggested he talk about it, but it is very much his modus operandi.}
17 Jul 2026 13:19:50
City have Rodri, granted but if he's injured they have Nico Gonzales who is a huge drop off in quality from Rodri.
Rice isn't really in the conversation for me because I think he's overrated. Szobo is a much better player in my opinion. But like Ed says, Rice is a guaranteed starter for Arsenal and Curtis is far from that for us. You should be comparing him to Lewis Skelly or even Eze at Arsenal or Kovacic at City if you want to compare apples with apples. All of those players have significant flaws just like Curtis does which is why they're not first choice.
Curtis is a decent back up option but if he really knuckles down and works on his decision making there is definitely a player there.
17 Jul 2026 16:00:15
Fornax, of course, he's been briefed on Slot's shortcomings when it comes to the fans. It was no coincidence that Iraola ticked all those boxes in the press conference.
17 Jul 2026 17:22:01
Wasn't there a quote recently from Bournemouth players (I'll paraphrase) that they'd "run through brick walls for their manager"? Sometimes it takes more than a tactician etc, and simply a likeable person. After years of fighting and footie teams, if I didn't like my coach or manager I'd simply leave to another gym or team, and professional players or not, we're all human at the end of the day.