Diogo Jota picks out hardest working player at Liverpool with instant response

Liverpool forward Diogo Jota wasted no time in revealing Curtis Jones is the hardest working player among the first-team squad. The 27-year-old is now one of the senior members at Anfield but still has time to sit back and admire the commitment of some of his teammates.

Jota, who joined the club from Wolverhampton Wanderers for around $48million (€44m/£37m) back in 2020, was forced to watch on from the sidelines due to muscle and knee issues for much of last season. The versatile forward missed 19 games due to injury and has opened up on the frustrations the setbacks caused.

“It’s so frustrating, especially when you feel like the team needs you. We were fighting for a lot of titles and you can’t play. That’s very frustrating. It’s so hard (watching from the sidelines) – 100 times worse than playing.”

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Despite the issues throughout the 2023/24 campaign, Jota is in high spirits ahead of Euro 2024 with Portugal and Arne Slot's first pre-season in charge of Liverpool. He has even taken some time before jetting off to Germany to offer a greater insight into the Reds' dressing room while speaking to GOAL.

When asked which of his Liverpool teammates is the most committed during training sessions, Jota quickly replied: "Curtis Jones."

Jones could have Reds legend Steven Gerrard to thank for his effort levels in training after the former midfielder dealt the youngster a harsh reality check during one pre-season tour. “It was Steven [Gerrard] who was the one who really came in," Jones said on the We Are Liverpool podcast.

“I’ll never forget the time, we’d been away on pre-season - I don’t know what country it was - we came back and he got the whole team in on a one-to-one.

“He’d been speaking about the things you did well and what you needed to improve. I remember when he came in - I don’t want to say what he said – it was good but it was not nice. It wasn’t nice. It was like the harsh truths.”

Liverpool.com says: Having a Liverpool-born player like Jones leading the way in training is a promising thing to hear for fans. Jones will know what it means to put on the shirt and will hopefully inspire others to follow suit at the AXA Training Centre. This will likely be well received by new boss Arne Slot, who is known for demanding a lot in training.