Curtis Jones has the story. Boyhood Scouser, joined the academy as a kid, became Liverpool's youngest-ever captain at 19. That's practically the Gerrard blueprint on paper. The reality this pre-season has been messier than that.
Start with the record book: at 19 years and 105 days old, Jones broke a club captaincy record that had stood since 1900, leading the side out in an FA Cup replay against Shrewsbury. He grew up in Liverpool city centre, joined the club as an Under-9, and has talked openly about it being a childhood dream to captain "this great team in front of these unbelievable fans." That's not manufactured narrative — that's the actual Gerrard story beat for beat: local kid, boyhood club, captain's armband, the weight of the city on his shoulders.
Iraola has been vocal in his support too, saying directly that he rates Jones "very highly" and hopes he continues both his Liverpool career and his current form. That's a new manager publicly backing a homegrown player early in his tenure — worth something on its own.
Here's where it gets messier than a tidy legacy narrative. After Liverpool's pre-season win over Wrexham, cameras caught Jones in a heated exchange with Dominik Szoboszlai and Kostas Tsimikas — reportedly sparked by Szoboszlai handing the captain's armband to Tsimikas rather than Jones when he was substituted. Tsimikas was filmed throwing the armband to the ground afterward. Exactly what triggered it is still speculation — tactical frustration, the armband snub itself, or something else entirely — but it's not the image of a settled, established leader.
Layer onto that a genuinely uncertain contract situation. Jones is out of contract at the end of the 2026-27 season, has been linked with a move to Inter Milan, and by some reporting has already turned down a new deal despite Iraola's public appeal. A player fighting for his long-term Liverpool future isn't usually the same player you hand the identity of the club to.
Liverpool's midfield has a long history of players who divided opinion before winning people over — Henderson took years to earn trust that felt total by the end. Jones may well be walking that same path. The Gerrard comparison isn't really about output or trophies at this stage; it's about what the armband and the boyhood-club story represent, and right now that symbolism is genuinely in tension with a very public dispute and an unresolved future.
The honest answer: Iraola clearly sees something in Jones worth building around. Whether Jones himself sees his future at Anfield the same way is the actual question — and unlike the on-pitch stuff, that's one only he can answer.