Curtis Jones could become Liverpool’s youngest ever captain
Local lad Curtis Jones could become Liverpool’s youngest captain in the FA Cup 4th round replay against Shrewsbury Town at Anfield. (h/t Mirror)
The decision, however, could rest on the flip of a coin. This is according to Under-23 manager Neil Critchley, who will stand in with Jurgen Klopp absent.
This is Critchley’s second time managing the club at a senior level, having lead the team at Villa Park when the first team was away in Qatar for the Club World Cup.
22-year-old Pedro Chirivella captained the youngest Liverpool team in history that night as they fell 5-0 to Aston Villa.
It is noteworthy that Curtis Jones is the Liverpool Under-23 captain. He was not part of the Liverpool team that faced Villa.
The 19-year-old could be set to retake the armband tonight if luck favours him in the coin toss. The choice of captain tonight seems to hinge on a coin toss as Critchley joked about being given a double-headed coin by Jones.
If he indeed leads the team out, Jones will be the youngest captain in Liverpool history at 19 years and 5 days.
He will usurp the record set by Alex Raisbeck in 1900. The youngster was 20 years and 250 days when he first led the team. The second spot on the list is occupied by Reds legend Steven Gerrard who took the armband at the age of 22 years.
Jones has impressed when given the chance. He famously scored the winner in the 1-0 win over Everton in the third round.
He also gave Liverpool the lead at New Meadow for his second goal of the competition. However, he couldn’t stop Shrewsbury from fighting back to earn a well-deserved replay.
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Jones has already etched in name in Anfield history as the youngest scorer in a Merseyside derby. It remains to be seen if he can add another record to his name tonight.
