Liverpool played a midfield three together for the first time against Aston Villa and it worked a treat. Jürgen Klopp knows the importance of one overlooked element.
Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones could be ready for a massive season. (Image: Photo by John Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)Splashing out a total of $182m (£146m/€170m) this summer on four players — Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Wataru Endō and Ryan Gravenberch — Liverpool has completely transformed Jürgen Klopp’s midfield.
Alongside Thiago Alcântara, Stefan Bajčetić, Harvey Elliott and Curtis Jones, as well as young talent Bobby Clark, Liverpool has a really solid group of players in that position.
And unlike in previous seasons, most of that crop are reliable enough fitness-wise to be able to rely on them consistently when required.
It was interesting to note that against Aston Villa, Klopp went with a Liverpool midfield trio of Mac Allister at the base and Jones and Szoboszlai on either side. Endō, the only senior holding midfielder, was left on the bench.
While that decision could be taken as a reflection on how Endō is viewed by Klopp — and he has effectively described him as a James Milner replacement — it probably says more about the standing of Jones, a player who helped transform Liverpool last season when he had a run in the side toward the back end.
After feeling his way back into match action against Chelsea, Jones strung together a run of performances that showed exactly where he would fit into the midfield rebuild: right at the heart of it.
Since then, he has picked up another frustrating injury but has relatively quickly gotten over that.
As soon as he was available again, Klopp thrust him back into the action and the decision paid dividends.
Jones is the perfect player for the left-sided attacking position and it was clearly better for Liverpool to have that skillset on the field, sacrificing Mac Allister a little by playing him deeper, rather than picking one over the other.
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The best player at the U21 Euros for England in the summer, Jones is a player that does as much off the ball as on it for Liverpool these days, relentlessly pressing and harrying to win possession back.
It worked so well against Aston Villa, a very good side that was simply suffocated as it attempted to play out from its defense, that it would be a surprise to see that formula changed up for the next fixture against Wolves.
Mac Allister and especially Szoboszlai have rightly earned praise for Liverpool in midfield so far this season. It won’t be long, though, before Jones is spoken about in the same way.
By selecting him ahead of Endō, Klopp has already hinted at the pecking order and the young Scouser will no doubt be backing himself to stave off the competition from Gravenberch when the Dutchman gets up to speed.
The only real question mark about Jones has been his fitness, but with a stronger midfield contingent around him that should avoid the need to over-rely on players when they are available, an exciting campaign awaits a player who is at least as important to the Liverpool rebuild as Mac Allister and Szoboszlai.
