Curtis Jones Returns to England U21 Track Following Liverpool Misstep and Praise from Alan Shearer

It was the perfect England U21 swansong for Curtis Jones. Making the most of his final summer of eligibility, the Liverpool midfielder starred at the European Championships in June, ultimately helping England to glory.

The record books will always reflect that he scored the winning goal in the final, too. But while he didn't know all that much about the effort, which deflected wickedly off him, his all-round performance in the tournament was excellent, and a continuation of the form he had showcased for Liverpool in the run-in.
Now a truly established presence for Liverpool under Jürgen Klopp (suspension notwithstanding), it seems like the England U21 timeline has worked out well for Jones. Even if he were still eligible, it would feel as though he had outgrown the team.
In his absence, others are already starting to emerge, not least Harvey Elliott. He had appeared to overtake Jones at club level for a time, but has had a more peripheral Liverpool role so far this season, and seized on the chance to shine against Serbia U21s in a recent 9-1 thrashing.
But while it's good for Jones to have graduated, there is an inevitable question about what comes next. The Liverpool star has very much made the most of the England U21 system, earning 20 caps, but he is yet to receive a senior call-up from Gareth Southgate.

It's up to the England manager to show that the pathway from the U21s still exists, as we wrote here. His loyalty to certain players — including former Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson — is at risk of removing a former Southgate strength.
After all, it must be said that the England U21s historically has a decidedly mixed record in terms of being a pathway to senior success. For every Alan Shearer, there is a Saido Berahino.

Both Shearer (second, behind Eddie Nketiah) and Berahino (fourth) feature on the list of England U21s all-time top 10 scorers. In and of itself, it is a curious honor, with the team ultimately designed to be a stepping stone.
Shearer, of course, took that leap. He became the Premier League's all-time top scorer, while he scored 30 times in 62 games for England across an eight-year international career.

There are other success stories among the top goal-scorers. Most recently, while Tammy Abraham has not nailed down a regular England place just yet, he was given a chance early into Southgate's tenure, and has received a total of 11 senior caps to date.
Yet there has been no such luck for Dominic Solanke. A flop at Liverpool, he has done very well to revive his career at Bournemouth, but his position as England U21s joint-sixth top scorer has seemingly not led to any credit in the bank with Southgate. He has just one senior cap, which came off the bench in a friendly. It's even worse for leading marksman Nketiah, who is still waiting to feature.

Jones is not quite a record-breaker in terms of his England U21 numbers. He finished four goals off the top 10, and nine caps short of the equivalent appearances list (which is topped by former Liverpool vice-captain James Milner, who featured a staggering 46 times). But it's clear he has done more than enough to showcase his quality at the highest youth international level.

Now the onus is on Southgate to reward that. Jones has backed up his efforts in the England set-up with a major upswing in his Liverpool form — if that isn't enough, something has gone wrong with the U21 team, which at its best can serve as a real feeder to the big time.

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