I’m likely in the extreme minority on this but I think he should go out on loan, but not until after the next fa cup game. He’s not going to get much playing time this year and he is obviously ready for some first team football. A loan at a decent championship club could get him some much needed experience this year with, potentially, the view to being a squad player next year.
Yeah I was thinking the same, but I'm more in two minds about it.
The question is, at his current level, what are we look for for him, in a loan?
Because we've seen Harry Wilson and Marko Grujic do very well on their respective loans, and I think no doubt demonstrate that they're players that can play in top level football, but it's not necessarily clear that they will have a future at Liverpool.
I think we're at a point in the club now where we're sophisticated enough with our recruitment and squad building that success on loan as a young player doesn't necessarily guarantee you anything back at the club - and in fact, even showing that you are a 20-30m player, only tells us that you're good enough to be sold for 20-30m.
So are we looking for Curtis Jones to show what Grujic and Wilson have shown - i.e. the ability to perform at a good level elsewhere? If so, I think a loan is a good idea.
But I also suspect that we think he might have already demonstrated that internally. If that's the case, the next question is whether we think he's a good fit for the way we play. If not, I think a loan is still a good idea, because it raises his value and we can sell him down the track. If we think he is a good fit, and he's good enough to play at the top level, I think we should be figuring out a way for him to play more games and gradually be integrated into the squad.
I suspect the latter is the more likely trajectory for him. If we manage to maintain this lead and have the league sewn up with a few games to go, I think he and Elliott will both start games at the end of the season, in addition to the next couple of cup games, fixtures willing. That would be a much better outcome than sending him on loan.