Carragher urges Slot to abandon £50m Liverpool transfer chase after star pockets Cole Palmer in masterclass

Arne Slot has been told he no longer needs to consider signing Martin Zubimendi for Liverpool after both Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville talked up the incredible performance of Curtis Jones in Sunday’s 2-1 win over Chelsea at Anfield.

The Reds had hoped to make the Spain midfielder the first signing of the Slot era at Anfield when they agreed to meet the €60m (£50m, $65m) exit clause in his Real Sociedad contract, only for the player to decide against the move and remain with his hometown team. It has since been suggested though that Liverpool could rekindle the transfer in January, amid claims he still remains on their radar and with the Merseysiders opting against a move to sign an alternative.

The failure to land Zubimendi has allowed Ryan Gravenberch to flourish in the base of midfield with the Dutchman producing several eye-catching displays in the Reds’ march to the Premier League summit.

However, on Sunday it was the turn of Jones to catch the eye, with the 23-year-old producing a man-of-the-match performance on his second Premier League start of the season, scoring the winning goal in front of the Kop and helping Slot’s side claim a 10th win from 11 games in all competitions this season.

So good was Jones in the match that Carragher claims they no longer need to consider rekindling their efforts to sign Zubimendi.

“He was brilliant, he was outstanding,” Carragher said on Sky Sports.

“He’s still at that stage where he’s not ever really made himself first choice, where he knows he’s playing. You’ve got [Alexis] Mac Allister and Gravenberch who are outstanding, so it’s got to be tough for him, but what a performance that was.

“You think of the quality on the pitch, you think of the money that’s been spent and for a local lad to put a performance in like that was outstanding.”

Carragher added: “I keep thinking in the back of my mind, will Arne Slot go back in for Zubimendi in January? When you see performances like that you’re thinking no.

“Over the last few weeks, I’ve thought maybe Liverpool could still do with a midfielder, but when you’ve got someone like Curtis Jones and you’ve got those three battling for two positions, that’s a great quality.”

READ MORE: Zubimendi breaks silence on rejecting Liverpool as Man City prepare to steal signing

Jones on pocketing Cole Palmer as Gary Neville talks up Liverpool star

Carragher claims Jones’ performance was like a throwback to some greats of the 1980s.

“That was almost a throwback to when I started watching football and you just called someone a midfield player.

“You remember Bryan Robson, it was Steve McMahon for Liverpool, Peter Reid for Everton.

“You had to defend and also get forward, and that’s the type of performance we saw today. He was a little bit of everything.

“Doing the defensive job on Cole Palmer, getting into the box, getting a goal, getting a penalty.”

In his post-match interview, Jones admitted it was important for him to keep England teammate Palmer quiet.

“We know how important he is for the whole of their team, how many goals he scores and his assists as well,” the match-winner said.

“So I had it in my mind that if I can keep Cole quiet then it’s a huge part of their game gone.

“[For my block] I saw he was a little bit free and I knew it was on me, so I did a little bit of a slide and he still had the ball – I put my foot there and just hoped, then I blocked the shot.

“He didn’t score or assist, so I’m happy!”

Gary Neville was also hugely impressed by Jones, waxing lyrical about the No.17 during his co-commentary.

“Curtis Jones is my man of the match. He scored the winner, he’s been the best player on the pitch and has been involved in a lot of Liverpool’s best play.”

Latest Liverpool transfer news: Salah tipped to STAY / Slot eyes Brighton star

Meanwhile, Liverpool have been given reason to believe Mo Salah will REMAIN at Anfield with Carragher making clear the exact reasons why he is convinced the Reds talisman will sign a new deal.

His current arrangement expires next summer, giving Liverpool reason to fear he will depart on a free. But a confident Carragher is adamant Salah will stay, as he closes down on several big goalscoring records.

Elsewhere, the Reds are reportedly keen on a deal for Brighton attacking midfielder Facundo Buonanotte after several eye-catching performances while on loan at Leicester.

Manchester City, though, are also keen and ready to rival Liverpool for his signature amid claims the Argentine can leave the AMEX for a bargain fee.

And finally, Liverpool goalkeeper Caiomhin Kelleher has doubled down on his belief that he needs to quit Anfield, despite having impressed once again on Sunday when deputising for Alisson during the win over Enzo Maresca’s side.

Curtis Jones’ performance v Chelsea