Curtis Jones is having a prolific 2023/24 season at Liverpool after all their chops and changes in the midfield structure and the midfielder recently won over some Nigerian fans by revealing his surprising roots to the country.
The 23-year-old has represented England at multiple youth levels, playing for their under-16, under-17, under-18 and under-21 side.
He is Liverpool through and through, being born in the city and joining the Reds at the age of seven in 2010. However, it seems that he is quite respectful of his Nigerian heritage despite representing England on the international stage.
How Does Curtis Jones Have Nigerian Roots?
Jones was born in England and, obviously, has English citizenship for the same too. But, the 23-year-old has revealed that he has a Nigerian heritage due to his grandmother. It seems that his grandparent was a Nigerian citizen and therefore the Englishman has some roots in the country too.
This has actually surprised a lot of people because nobody had any idea that Jones could’ve actually had any Nigerian heritage.
In fact, Nigeria star Alex Iwobi was recorded in a video being visibly surprised when being told that Jones has roots to his country before the Super Eagles’ gutting loss to Ivory Coast in the Africa Cup of Nations final.
Can Jones Represent Nigeria At The International Stages?
Jones has actually attracted the support of a lot of Nigerian fans after outing himself to have roots to the country. The Liverpool star stated that he has received messages from supporters asking him to represent the Super Eagles and once said: “I have gotten messages and it’s real interesting that fans of the national team think so highly of me. They are very passionate of their team.”
Even though Jones has represented England at multiple youth levels, he can actually still play for the Nigeria national team if he wants. FIFA rules allow players to represent another nation if they have roots to the country through their parents or grandparents.
There are actually many popular footballers to have represented two nations in their careers, as ex-Chelsea forward Diego Costa actually played two friendly games for Brazil before switching his allegiance to Spain. The likes of Thiago Motta and Wilfried Zaha have also played for multiple national teams.
Jones hasn’t even played for the England senior team yet, so he is definitely eligible to play for Nigeria. He would probably get an ‘easier’ path to regular game-time with the Super Eagles due to how heavily packed the competitiveness is in the England national team midfield set-up – with the likes of Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham unlikely to be unseated anytime soon.
It’s upon the 23-year-old to decide if he wants to play for England and Nigeria going forward, but after seeing the Super Eagles falter in the AFCON final, it remains to be seen if that can influence his decision to play for them.
