Liverpool midfielder set to REPLACE Andy Robertson | OneFootball

The Reds recently promoted Andy Robertson and since he's in the last season of his contract, with a free transfer lingering in the distance, Liverpool need to have long-term plans in place.

Such efforts have to include replacing the player in their position, but also looking at their overall role in the team, which can be a lot harder to cover. After all, his experience in the side is invaluable.

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The situation is exactly the same with Virgil Van Dijk. Finding someone of his quality is an intimidating task, but it's the intangible stuff that he brings to the team in regard to leadership that you also lose.

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As captain and vice-captain of Arne Slot's team, it's always important to try and identify players with the potential to take over from them, and we've got a midfield candidate who could cover Robertson.

Jones is an underrated leader

It has recently come out in The Athletic that the Scouser in the Reds' side Curtis Jones has been taking the initiative to make the new signings feel at home and it's not the first time he's done this.

In their latest report, it said: "Having Frimpong [Jeremie] alongside him [Florian Wirtz] has helped Wirtz adapt to life on Merseyside. He has also bonded with Curtis Jones, Dominik Szoboszlai and [Hugo] Ekitike. He is reserved but driven."

The German delivered his best performance in a Liverpool shirt against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday night and you feel as though he's going from strength to strength the more he plays.

Slot had a lot of sympathy for Wirtz in adapting to life in England. In his press conference, referenced by the report, he said: "In the first two month or three months, your whole life is changing. All the things that are normal to you are not normal anymore. Everything is different and that sometimes costs energy as well."

Frimpong also spoke to the media and added: "He's just getting started. I spent four years with him at Leverkusen and I know what he can do. I'm seeing that. It's coming. There's a lot more to see from him."

Despite the team's difficulty to adjust straight away, five wins have been recorded from five games and while Jones' role in helping Wirtz and the other signing might have been under-represented by the Athletic's report, we know that the Englishman is always a team player in the dressing room.

Back in 2022 when Luis Diaz was signed from FC Porto, it was difficult for the Colombian to embed himself into the side because he spoke little to not English at all. The South American squadron in the team helped him initially, but somehow Jones managed to find a way to communicate with him.

Jurgen Klopp spoke about their relationship at the time and said: "He communicates with everybody without speaking the language. We have the Spanish faction, that's not a problem, they're really close. They helped him so much, Thiago , Fab [Fabinho], Alisson, Bobby [Firmino], all these kind of guys, Adrian is great in this aspect.

"But he's really close with Curtis [Jones] and Harvey [Elliott], I have no idea how they talk to be honest. He's really close, on an emotional basis they are [close] and it was after a week. It is really strange."

It's this ability and intention to make others feel welcome that suggests Jones might have what it takes to cover Robertson as the vice-captain next season. You have to deliver on the pitch and lead by example as well, but the personal skills of showing empathy and being kind that matter as well.

Of course, no one's going anywhere quite yet, so any decision on the vice-captaincy for next season will take place closer to the time, but don't be surprised if the Englishman gets the nod from Slot.