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Former RB Leipzig coach Ralf Rangnick has revealed he once enquired about signing Liverpool teenager Curtis Jones on loan - but was knocked back.
The 19-year-old Scouser is one of a host of young Liverpool players to have performed well under influential manager Jürgen Klopp.
His strong midfield displays have warranted numerous call-ups to the side where he continues to provide a creative spark going forward.
Jones is clearly rated highly by the coaches and fans at Anfield, and had caught the eye of Rangnick, who coached Leipzig from 2015 to 2019.
In 2018, Rangnick wanted to sign the youngster for a season or two on loan, but Klopp refused to let him leave.
Instead of allowing him to leave on loan, Klopp decided to keep Jones on Merseyside around the first-team squad.
Speaking to The Football Show on Sky Sports, Ragnick said:
I know that they (Liverpool) don't (want to send him out on loan), because I was asking Jürgen about Curtis two years ago, if they would send him to Leipzig on loan for a year or two, and he said no.
Jürgen wants to keep him. I think he knows what kind of massive talent he has with Curtis in his squad. He's one of the most exciting young players in England, currently.
Of course, for him, the problem is he has so many top players ahead of him. The good thing is that most of those homegrown Liverpudlian young players, they don't want to leave. Not only do they not want to leave England, they also don't want to leave Liverpool.
I think it will be important that he has the patience but, on the other hand, gets enough game time this season and next season, because I think if he doesn't play regularly in the next two years, it will be difficult to accelerate his development.
In him, I see one of the most exciting players and it will be very interesting to see what happens with him in the next one or two years.
Jones' progression over the past couple of seasons has proven that Klopp was right to keep him at Anfield instead of loaning him out.
He has produced five goals in his 16 appearances with the Reds' senior side after making a debut in January 2019.
