Liverpool news: Arne Slot has unearthed new diamond Jurgen Klopp never fully discovered

Arne Slot replaced Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool during the summer

Liverpool manager Arne Slot has found untapped potential in the squad he inherited from Jurgen Klopp. And perhaps no player has come out of their shell more following the German's departure than Curtis Jones. The 23-year-old academy product was rarely, if ever, a nailed-on member of Klopp's starting line-up, and he never managed to rack up more than 24 appearances in a single Premier League season. Now, two-and-a-half months into the new campaign, it is apparent that Slot's more measured style of football suits him down to the ground. And he has used that to his advantage by muscling £60million Dominik Szoboszlai out of the No 10 role.

Jones got the nod for the Champions League clash at home to Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday night. And he showed why on the hour mark, with his incisive pass setting up Luis Diaz to kick-start a flurry of four goals in the space of just over half an hour. That injection of quality was merely the latest indicator of Jones taking a step up in responsibility this season. With four goal contributions to his name and a catalogue of stellar defensive work, lingering concerns about the midfielder being too slow on the ball are quickly fading away. The first signs of Jones' new-found form came when he delivered a statement performance against Chelsea last month.

Curtis Jones has made a brilliant start to the season under Arne Slot

He was the best player on the pitch, winning the penalty converted by Mohamed Salah and scoring the winner himself in the 51st minute. Jones was also particularly impressive coming off the bench against Brighton at the weekend. Slot tinkered with Jones in a deep-lying midfield role during pre-season, but he has since proven much more effective further forward. And the Dutchman dished out well-deserved praise for the Liverpool-born star after the Leverkusen thrashing.

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