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

manager has found untapped potential in the squad he inherited from .

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 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 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.

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.

"I still learn on a daily basis about every player, and Curtis is one of them," he said. "It's one of his qualities that at this moment he can play in every position because he's in a very good place. So comfortable on the ball and you can trust him closer to your defence.

"But like we saw against Chelsea and I saw today as well, he is also able to penetrate inside the 18-yard box and give the last pass. He's really made a step up after pre-season, and that's why he gets his chances now because if players do well - and I have quite a lot of them at the moment - they will get their chances."