Liverpool now have a £100m midfielder who cost them NOTHING | OneFootball

Getting academy kids into the first-team is the best way and the best antidote against the consumerist nature of football.

As a fan there's nothing better than seeing a local boy make it and become an important player. We witnessed it with Trent Alexander-Arnold.

He was adored at Anfield, until he wasn't. Because he had decided to turn his back on Liverpool.

Now there's another special midfielder following in his footsteps. Without Alexander-Arnold, Curtis Jones has stepped into the scouser role in the team.

He's done brilliantly, not just in his interviews where he talks about what it means to wear the Liverpool shirt but on the pitch as well.

Jones has been setting an example through action.

Over the course of the last week, he's been the key to Liverpool's revival under Arne Slot. Jones has formed an important role in the middle of the park to dictate the rhythm and flow of the team.

Everything now flows through him in the build-up and he has made others around him better. There's no question Florian Wirtz has benefitted and the rest of the team has as well.

The numbers prove that as well, Jones has attempted 8.5 progressive passes per 90 minutes for Liverpool in the Premier League this season.

Only Adam Wharton and Bruno Fernandes have attempted more, and out what's more impressive is how accurate Jones' progressive passes are.

His completion rate is 91.55% which is the best rate out of any midfielder who has played at least 500 minutes this season.

It's an incredible figure, the kind of figure only the best midfielders are able to produce. The likes of Vitinha, who according to Football Transfers' estimates is worth over £100m.

Well, at this stage so is Jones. And the best part about the whole thing is that he cost Liverpool nothing because he came through the academy. Perhaps that's a lesson for Arne Slot as well. There's £100m players hiding in the club's Kirkby academy all the time.