Arne Slot already gave his verdict on laughable Curtis Jones interest before $46M transfer

Curtis Jones has reportedly been eyed up by one of Liverpool's rivals for a transfer, but Arne Slot has already made his feelings clear about the midfielder's importance to the Reds

Arne Slot has made his feelings clear on Curtis Jones amid suggestions another club has been eyeing him up(Image: Getty Images)

Arne Slot described Curtis Jones as a “complete” player, making his feelings on the Liverpool midfielder clear as links with Tottenham have begun to do the rounds.

Although Jones hasn’t quite been able to nail down a starting spot in the Reds’ side since breaking through as an academy graduate, he has established himself as an integral part in Slot’s team, having made a total of 72 appearances since the Dutchman’s arrival at Anfield.

The 24-year-old though may have been surprised to see his name being linked with one of Liverpool’s rivals this week, with a report on social media gaining a lot of attention.

According to Paul O’Keefe, who has developed a reputation as an insider for Spurs, Tottenham had Jones “on their list” of midfield targets.

He pointed to the fact that Jones’ contract is set to expire in 2027, but also admitted that Spurs would likely “scrub” the idea of signing him now, having landed Conor Gallagher in a £34 million ($46M) deal from Atletico Madrid.

There are plenty of reasons why Tottenham would admire a player like Jones, but the idea that Liverpool would let him join one of its Premier League rivals seems highly unlikely, especially given Slot’s opinion of him.

"He has a lot of qualities on the ball," Slot said of Jones after he was called up by England in November 2024.

Curtis Jones has reportedly been eyed up by Tottenham(Image: Getty Images)

"He is never afraid to do something special with it, but sometimes he touches the ball a bit too much in my opinion because he is so confident.

"But confidence is an important tool. He has an incredibly hard work rate and we trust him in defense. He is complete. For him now, it is all about consistency. The best players turn up every three days and that is what he has got to show."

Slot would go on to heap further praise on Jones just last month, outlining his impact on Liverpool’s upturn in form.

“I think that's always one of his main qualities, that he always wants to have the ball no matter what the situation is,” Slot said.

“That is 99 out of 100 times very positive. Sometimes it is also smarter to maybe stay away from the ball or not bring yourself in a difficult situation.

“But even if it's a really difficult situation, he had one in the corner [against Wolves], he was able to bring himself out of the situation and play the ball to Ryan [Gravenberch].

“I think the first and most positive thing for him is that he's able to stay fit for four or five games in a row now and he's played indeed 90 minutes every single time.”

Liverpool.com says: Whether Tottenham was interested in Jones is neither here nor there really. There is surely no way Liverpool would have let him make the move to north London.

Even before you consider how strange it would look to let a player join one of your rivals, Jones plays far too important a role in Slot’s side to just offload him. That contract situation will have to be addressed soon though.