Liverpool's sweeping summer changes after the struggle of the 2022/23 campaign bear testament to the resolve and ingenuity of Jurgen Klopp's side.
Football is effectively a many-faceted puzzle, with teams working feverishly to identify solutions to an ever-revolving conveyor belt of problems. Some are better at this than others; Liverpool have proved their consistency as elite problem-solvers over the past just short of nine years.
Ageing midfielders Jordan Henderson, Fabinho and Co had fallen by the wayside, used up of their once-bottomless well of energy and spirit and tenacity. Years of unrelenting football within an unrelenting system in an unrelenting Premier League will do that.
Enter Alexis Mac Allister. Welcome, creative Dominik Szoboszlai. These early summer additions spoke of intent, as did the ambitious pursuit of Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia, though both wound up at Chelsea and Liverpool surprisingly signed Wataru Endo for £16m – hindsight's a wonderful thing. Aged 21, Ryan Gravenberch also arrived in August and has much to prove but much to offer.
Liverpool has been restored, and this is reflected through the resounding resurgence that has seen the Carabao Cup clinched and a real belief that further success can be found in the Premier League and Europa League, the Red fuelled by Klopp's swansong.
Such players have been vital to the revival, true, but some of the existing Anfield crop have really stepped up too, with Virgil van Dijk back to his imperious best after donning the armband for the start of the season.
The Liverpool players who have stepped up in 23/24
Signed from Southampton in a record £75m transfer back in December 2017, Van Dijk has long been regarded as one of Europe's eminent defenders, but he was knocked from his pedestal last term as Liverpool toiled.
32 years old, some thought his world-class sheen had peeled away, but Van Dijk proved his credentials and some of that toughness mentioned above too. He's been immense.
The skipper has contended with extended absences to Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joel Matip, Andy Robertson and Alisson Becker this season, he's held the backline together with steel-enforced string.
As per Sofascore, the Netherlands star has completed 26 Premier League fixtures for second-placed Liverpool, posting two goals and assists apiece, completing 91% of his passes, incredibly winning 78% of his duels and averaging 5.1 ball recoveries and 4.3 clearances each match.
In a different way, Harvey Elliott has also stepped up remarkably this season, with the 20-year-old centre-midfielder playing a prominent role throughout the campaign and especially so in recent months, tasked with a starring role as a host of Liverpool first-teamers sat injured on the sidelines.
As per FBref, Elliott ranks among the top 1% of midfielders across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for assists, the top 5% for shot-creating actions, the top 6% for progressive passes and the top 3% for progressive carries per 90, so influential in the engine room and hailed for having “made the difference" during a testing and crucial run by correspondent Neil Jones.
He's been around for a while but Elliott is playing with age-belying confidence and control, and he's comfortably one of Liverpool's most exciting prospects.
This said, there's another rising star who has now cemented himself to have rocketed into a position of prominence within Klopp's squad and is now valued higher than both these aforementioned stars.
Indeed, Curtis Jones has now cemented himself as an invaluable, singular member of Liverpool's midfield after several years of ebbing and flowing on Merseyside.
Curtis Jones' season in numbers
Scouse-born, Jones made his first-team debut way back in 2019 as a 17-year-old, truly announcing himself one year on with a stunning FA Cup strike against Everton
Crisp and composed with his distribution, sharply aware of his surroundings and intelligent with his movement, Jones earned a consistent run of starts at the end of the 2022/23 season as Liverpool rekindled their verve and salvaged European football.
Praised for his “truly special” style of play by one analyst, Jones has scored five goals and provided three assists across 28 appearances this season, though he's missed the past nine matches in all competitions due to injury.
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Following his run before the summer, pundit Paul Merson voiced his opinion on the player, saying: "I quite like Curtis Jones, but he's not a name, is he? He's not a £60-70m player. I like him. I think he does a good job and he doesn't let you down. But he's not a superstar."
Well, Jones has gone from strength to strength and might not prove such claims wrong, standing proud as one of the club's most valuable assets.
Curtis Jones' market value in 2024
According to CIES Football observatory's player valuation model, Jones boasts an eye-catching market worth of £69m, considered one of the most treasured assets on the Anfield books, falling right into that ballpark that Merson appeared to think lay beyond his skill set.
1.
Alexis Mac Allister
£86m
1.
Darwin Nunez
£86m
1.
Dominik Szoboszlai
£86m
1.
Cody Gakpo
£86m
5.
Trent Alexander-Arnold
£69m
5.
Curtis Jones
£69m
5.
Luis Diaz
£69m
5.
Ibrahima Konate
£69m
His £69m marking places him above the likes of Van Dijk and Elliott, and while the former is something of a veteran now and the other is still young, sure to blossom into such a powerhouse down the line, it's truly amazing how far Jones has come after graduating from the Liverpool academy.
The £15k-per-week star ranks among the top 13% of midfielders across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for goals, the top 17% for assists, the top 5% for pass completion, the top 8% for progressive carries, the top 12% for successful take-ons and the top 21% for tackles per 90.
It's clear to see that he's shaping into an elite midfielder and, at just 23 years of age, he's got so much growth yet to come.
Jones has indeed spent the past period of football sidelined with an ankle injury, though he is slated to return imminently in what will be a massive boost for a Liverpool side chasing down silverware at the end of Klopp's reign.
He's a remarkable player with attributes not easily replicated, and he's deservedly seen his market value balloon after showcasing his skills with such elegance and effectiveness.