Curtis Jones has made it clear that he’s relishing the change Arne Slot is bringing to Liverpool, and this new era should be very exciting for fans too.

While his work at Feyenoord and before that AZ Alkmaar offered clues, in the months since his appointment it has been something of a mystery exactly how Slot would set his Liverpool side up.

But speaking ahead of the first official friendly of pre-season against Real Betis in Pittsburgh, Jones gave the biggest indication yet.

“I feel like my way of playing has always been a kid who wants to get on the ball and play, help the team and be comfortable on the ball,” he told reporters.

“I then came around a team who always had world-class lads out on the wing and up front, and I feel like the centre-mids were always lads who were more like runners and more disciplined, I’d say.

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“Of course, the principles are the same, but I feel like now the centre-mid is going to be more like the heart of the team.

“Mo is always still going to get us goals and things like that, but in terms of our buildup and how comfortable on the ball and stuff, how calm we have to be and play more as a team, we’re not in a rush to attack.

“We kind of just want to have the ball and just break teams down, then of course that gives us a chance that, if we give the ball away, then we can go and press.

“I feel more in the past a bit it was like a rush, we get the ball back and it was a little bit too direct, I would say, and it was up and down, up and down.

“Now he wants us to have all the ball and completely kill teams.”

Jones explained that he was “probably the happiest I’ve been in terms of a style of play that suits me,” which created headlines as a supposed dig at Jurgen Klopp.

‘I’m glad he’s gone’ were the words the Mail‘s sub-editors put into the midfielder’s mouth – along with their own reporter’s – but that was far from the case.

There was no slight on Klopp, with it clear from peering into Liverpool’s trophy room that his tactics worked, more so that Jones feels more in his own skin playing Slot’s brand of football.

And he is totally correct. When Jones debuted in the Liverpool first team, Klopp relied upon a core midfield of Fabinho as his No. 6 and Jordan Henderson and Gini Wijnaldum as the two more advanced options.

With Fabinho excelling as the best defensive midfielder in the world, screening the back four with ridiculous efficiency, Henderson and Wijnaldum did the legwork ahead of him.

Even when the personnel in Klopp’s midfield changed – up to its current iteration – the roles they were required to fill rarely did.

That is due to a fundamental belief that midfield is where the ball is most often recovered, and where it could be most quickly recycled into attacks on the turnover. It is a philosophy that Klopp wore with pride from day one; counter-pressing trumps all.

Dominik Szoboszlai joined as a dynamic attacking midfielder from RB Leipzig but soon began clocking the hard yards previously expected of Henderson, while Alexis Mac Allister was thrown in at the deep end as Fabinho’s replacement at the base of midfield.

Not to forget that Wijnaldum – the gold standard for a Klopp midfielder – joined in 2016 as a goalscoring No. 10, arriving on the back of a season that saw him score four in one game for Newcastle against Norwich.

Jones himself may be the most drastic conversion project, having emerged in the academy as a dazzling left winger with a resolve to take defenders on, and after years of coaching settled into the role of steady, conservative possession-master.

Per FBref, Virgil van Dijk (91.3%) was the only Liverpool player to post a higher passing accuracy than Jones (90.8%) last season, but no midfielder played fewer progressive passes per 90 than his 5.14.

“I came around the team as a young lad and I’d always had a way of playing, and I had to adapt and change. But that was part of the plan, it wasn’t anything I couldn’t do,” Jones explained.

“But I feel this is more me. I can get on the ball more, I can do me more so I’m excited.”

Slot is unlikely to simply rip up the years of work Klopp and his staff put into honing the games of those midfielders, but the suggestion is that they will be given more freedom to express themselves.

There will be less urgency to feed the strikers, and with the head coach citing Pep Guardiola as one of his key influences, an emphasis on control can be expected instead.

“It’s a clear plan. The training, he’s fully involved, he coaches us a lot and he is big on the finest of details,” added Jones.

“He’s got a certain way of playing and he knows it’s going to take a little bit of time because it’s a big change, but him and his staff are chilled and know the quality is there.”

While Guardiola’s brand of positional play has often led Man City to be branded dull, Slot’s system is no carbon copy.

Instead, making midfield the “heart of the team” should instead make Liverpool an even more exciting proposition, with more outlets and more players capable of making a difference.

By the sounds of it, Jones stands to be one of those to benefit most, but Szoboszlai, Mac Allister, Harvey Elliott and Ryan Gravenberch should all thrive with the shackles off.

More responsibility could therefore land at the feet of Slot’s No. 6, which only underlines further that signing a new defensive midfielder to compete with Wataru Endo should be a priority this summer.

But with Jones peeling back the curtain on a new era for Liverpool under the charismatic Dutchman, there is plenty of cause for optimism.

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Mohamed Salah has been preparing for the start of the new Premier League season

Mohamed Salah has been preparing for the start of the new Premier League season

Fenway Sports Group had been in discussions over a potential takeover of the struggling French side

Fenway Sports Group had been in discussions over a potential takeover of the struggling French side

Curtis Jones is ready to embrace a more senior role at Liverpool under Arne Slot, declaring: "I don't see myself as a kid anymore"

Curtis Jones is ready to embrace a more senior role at Liverpool under Arne Slot, declaring: "I don't see myself as a kid anymore"

The academy graduate is expected to stay at Liverpool despite links with Real Madrid, and there is every chance he will be handed a huge new role.

The academy graduate is expected to stay at Liverpool despite links with Real Madrid, and there is every chance he will be handed a huge new role.

The Arne Slot era is underway - but what does the Dutchman need to do at Liverpool this season to challenge for the Premier League crown in his debut campaign?

Jurgen Klopp signed off his eight-year reign with a trophy and Champions League qualification.

Here's how Slot can build on that foundation to capitalise on his predecessor's legacy…

Get off to a flyer - and then stay at Man City and Arsenal's levels Image: Pep Guardiola's Man City and Mikel Arteta's Arsenal will be the favourites for Premier League glory

Liverpool took their title push well into April last season and while that ultimately tailed off, there is no doubt Klopp has left the club in a good place. Slot takes over Klopp's Liverpool 2.0 on a firm footing. A third-place finish and a Carabao Cup win demonstrated the quality of the young talent coming through at the club and can be a launchpad.

But there is no escaping the fact Slot is going to face off against two hugely powerful opponents in Arsenal and Manchester City. PSV produced a near-perfect campaign in the Eredivisie to pull away from Slot's Feyenoord but those are the standards he will have to get used to in the Premier League.

In recent years there has been no margin for error in England's top flight and Slot will need to hit the ground running at the start of next season if he is to lead Liverpool into another title race next term.

The fixture computer has been kind. Liverpool will be big favourites to win six of their first seven games. Manchester United away on September 1 will be an intriguing early-season test but by the time Liverpool face Chelsea and Arsenal back-to-back in the second half of October Slot will need to have momentum behind him and a big haul of points already on the board.

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Slot reveals how he gained 'advice' from Jurgen Klopp ahead of his first season in charge of the club

Liverpool were undefeated against champions Man City last season and held Arsenal to a point at Anfield. But scoring wins over the top two could be a decisive factor come the final standings.

City's relentless nature in the second half of the season made up for their defeat at Arsenal but, for Liverpool, the psychological boost of victory in these massive head-to-heads would be huge.

It was March 2022 when they last beat Arsenal in the league. October 2022 when they last took maximum points off City.

The trip to Arsenal on Matchweek Nine is a huge early test for Slot. But also a huge opportunity. A chance to land a statement result to inspire the players, authenticate his management and put doubts into the minds of their title rivals.

Secure futures of key men

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Speaking on the Transfer Talk podcast, Sam Tighe suggests that Liverpool fans may be ready to accept a bid for Mo Salah this summer given his age and contract status

Liverpool's chances of reaching those levels of City and Arsenal would be boosted if Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold find top form. But those Liverpool superstars, who have each been crucial figures in the Klopp era, are out of contract next summer.

While it might be down to chief executive of football Michael Edwards and new sporting director Richard Hughes to work out the nitty-gritty of the contract details, dealing with the futures of three key men in the Liverpool squad is a priority for Slot.

It might seem unthinkable for Liverpool fans to lose any of that trio but that is the issue Slot must have a say on.

Salah, 32, could once again be subject to a big bid from Saudi Arabia. After his recent drop-off in form, could now be the time to cash in on the Egyptian?

Van Dijk turned 33 this summer and after the Netherlands' exit from the Euros, the Liverpool captain said he would "think carefully" about his club and international future. What would a renewal for him look like?

Ultimately, Slot's main role in this would be to convince these star players that the future is bright with him in charge and it is worth signing up for the journey - even if, in the case of Salah and Van Dijk, that might be on reduced terms to what they're currently on.

Solve the striking problem

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The best goals Liverpool scored in the 2023/24 Premier League season

Perhaps the biggest fix Slot could make to this Liverpool side is in the final third. Their finishing last season held them back badly.

Darwin Nunez is the usual scapegoat on this topic and there is no escaping the fact he had the worst big-chance conversion rate of forwards who had at least 10 clear-cut chances last term. He missed 27 of his 33 big openings.

How does Slot get more out of Liverpool's £85m investment?

But with Salah (sixth) and Luis Diaz (12th) also ranking high for big chances missed last season, there is a wider finishing problem at Liverpool.

Liverpool had the highest Expected Goals (xG) total in the Premier League last season but underperformed that figure, having scored 86 rather than their anticipated 89.3.

In contrast, Arsenal and Man City both scored 14 goals more than their xG figures suggested they should have. Their cutting edge made a big difference.

Sign a top defensive midfielder Image: Liverpool may look to add another defensive midfielder to their team to support Wataru Endo and Alexis Mac Allister

Liverpool are still yet to make a signing since Slot's arrival and while we've already discussed ways they can improve with their current group, it feels as though defensive midfield is an area they need to address in the transfer market.

Wataru Endo and Alexis Mac Allister shared duties in the holding role last season but with Slot often using a double pivot in that area of the park and questions over whether Endo is a long-term solution for Liverpool, a recruit is required.

That would free up Mac Allister to play in a No 10 role more akin to what he had at Brighton but perhaps also give Liverpool's defence some more security - they did, after all, fall 1-0 behind in 23 matches last season.

Galvanise the Liverpool fans

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Watch the best of Slot's first press conference for Liverpool

Perhaps Slot's most important task - and the most intangible - is to galvanise the Liverpool fans in a similar way to how Klopp did.

Slot cannot copy Klopp and no one would expect him to. The connection between the German and the Kop was a special and unique one. But in this time of transition, Slot will need to convince the supporter base that the path he is taking the club down is the right one to deliver success.

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There were incredible scenes at Anfield as Jurgen Klopp led the Liverpool fans in chants for his imminent successor Arne Slot!

There will be bumps in the road, undoubtedly. And Slot and his players will need the Liverpool fans - and that famous Anfield atmosphere - at their backs to reach where they want to be.

Significant signings, big-name contract extensions and a goal-heavy fast start would help those fans believe Liverpool can kick on and challenge for top honours under Slot - and have them singing his name, just as Klopp implored them to.

What are the key dates for the 2024/25 season?

The 2024/25 Premier League season will start on the weekend of Friday August 16 and conclude on Sunday May 25 2025.

The campaign will run over 33 weekends, four midweek rounds and one Bank Holiday matchweek.

The Community Shield will take place on Saturday 10 August and the FA Cup final will take place on Saturday May 17, the weekend before the Premier League's final day.

The Champions League final will be held on Saturday May 31. The Europa League final will be played on Wednesday May 21 in Bilbao, with the UEFA Conference League final a week later on Wednesday May 28.

Live Premier League on Sky Sports in 2024/25

Sky Sports will show 128 games exclusively live in the 2024/25 season - and a brand new agreement between Sky Sports and the Premier League means even more live matches from 2025/26.

From 2025, Sky Sports will broadcast a record minimum of 215 Premier League matches a season after finalising a new four-year agreement.

Throughout the 2024/25 season, you can watch Premier League match highlights for free - without being a Sky Sports subscriber.

You'll find highlights from every Premier League game in the Score Centre, as well as on the Sky Sports website and Sky Sports app shortly after full-time, or from 5.15pm for midday Saturday kick-offs. You can also watch them on the Sky Sports Football YouTube channel.

You can stream Sky Sports live with no contract on a Month or Day membership on NOW - find out more about instant access to live action from the Premier League, EFL, F1, England cricket and much more.

Sky Sports+ - more sport, launching in August!

Sky Sports+ will give more choice to sports fans via live streams and a new dedicated channel, at no extra cost.

Launching this August, Sky Sports+ will be transformational in the amount of choice sports fans will have access to via live streams on Sky TV, streaming service NOW and the improved Sky Sports App on mobile.

With more coverage than ever before from the EFL, both tennis Tours and men's Super League, Sky Sports customers can enjoy more than 50% more live sport this year.

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Virgil van Dijk has been one of Liverpool's great Premier League centre-backs, but his future is now up in the air as he nears the end of his contract, and a long-term solution is needed

Virgil van Dijk has been one of Liverpool's great Premier League centre-backs, but his future is now up in the air as he nears the end of his contract, and a long-term solution is needed

The ECHO reports from Pittsburgh as Arne Slot's Liverpool prepare to pay their first friendly of the summer in the United States

The ECHO reports from Pittsburgh as Arne Slot's Liverpool prepare to pay their first friendly of the summer in the United States

Curtis Jones says the appointment of "amazing" Arne Slot has coincided with his happiest period as a Liverpool player

Curtis Jones says the appointment of "amazing" Arne Slot has coincided with his happiest period as a Liverpool player

Liverpool, to a certain extent, picked Arne Slot as a candidate who could offer a degree of continuity. But Curtis Jones has revealed that interesting changes are already being made.

Nobody could knock the Jurgen Klopp era, least of all Jones, who was given his chance in the first team by the legendary manager. But after so long, everyone is cautiously looking forward to the idea of something a bit different.

It is, without doubt, an exciting pre-season. Tonight (the early hours of Saturday for UK fans) we get to see what Slot football looks like in a match for the first time, having already got some tantalizing training glimpses.

READ MORE: Liverpool transfer news LIVE: Slot gives Alexander-Arnold update, Tsimikas 'leaving', Gordon offered contract

READ MORE: Kostas Tsimikas announces 'I'm leaving' Liverpool with unusual transfer declaration

And if Jones is anything to go by, there have been no early issues with player buy-in. Speaking ahead of the friendly with Real Betis, the 23-year-old sounded almost evangelical about Slot-ball.

"He's amazing [to work with], actually," Jones revealed. "I've said it a lot, it's probably the happiest I've been in terms of a style of play that suits me and the lads that we have in our team.

"It's a clear plan. In the training stuff he's fully involved, he coaches us a lot.

"He's big on the finer details of things. We've got a certain way of playing — he knows it's going to take a little bit of time because it's obviously a big change."

Jones is thriving in the new Liverpool regime. (Image: John Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

On hearing this, the natural instinct is almost to want to protect Klopp. But this kind of excitement about Slot is exactly what everyone would want to hear from the players.

It's great that the Dutchman has enthused the group (or Jones, at the very least!) so quickly. And it's fascinating to hear the perspective that the new style might even suit the squad better.

Should that prove to be the case, it would be a real vindication of Slot's appointment by Michael Edwards, Richard Hughes and the team. Liverpool always wanted to find a coach that would fit with the profile of the squad, rejecting Ruben Amorim partly on the basis of his preference for three at the back, and the early signs are promising that it has found someone who can take a Klopp squad and leave his own mark on it.

Liverpool.com says: This is an exciting update from Jones. Obviously, nobody was going to come out and slate Slot, but the midfielder didn't have to be this effusive and visibly enthusiastic.

And ignoring the gut reaction to jump to Klopp's defense, it is probably true that some of the technicians within the squad (and there are plenty) could be given an even greater platform to showcase their talents. The key will be in how Slot marries this with other elements that Liverpool will certainly not want to lose from its identity.

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We are no body language experts, but if Curtis Jones is anything to go by, we should be very excited about what Arne Slot has in store for us.

If you trust words more, the midfielder did not disappoint on the front either as he spoke to the press on Liverpool’s first stop of their US tour.

Jones has played 133 games for Liverpool and showed just how influential he could be last season, before injury struck, he was subject to a lot of praise from Jurgen Klopp, and rightly so.

But the No. 17 could not contain his excitement over what Slot has brought with him, declaring “It’s the happiest I’ve been in terms of a style of play.”

“The happiest I’ve been”

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“He’s amazing, actually,” Jones said of Slot with a wide smile. “It’s probably the happiest I’ve been in terms of a style of play that suits me and the lads that we have in our team.

“It’s a clear plan. The training, he’s fully involved, he coaches us a lot and he is big on the finest of details.

“He’s got a certain way of playing and he knows it’s going to take a little bit of time because it’s a big change, but him and his staff are chilled and know the quality is there.

“I came around the team as a young lad and I’d always had a way of playing and I had to adapt and change. But that was part of the plan, it wasn’t anything I couldn’t do.

“But I feel this is more me. I can get on the ball more, I can do me more so I’m excited.”

‘We we’re too rushed and direct before…’

Jones’ glowing review of Slot continued as he explained he has “always got a smile on his face and can approach him at any time.”

The Dutchman has also brought in analysts to go over training clips with the players, which Jones has found is a “huge help.”

The tactical changes from Klopp to Slot is where Jones gave us the gold, though, explaining: “The centre-mids were always lads who were runners and more disciplined.

“The principles are the same, but I feel that now the centre-mids are going to be more the heart of the team.

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“Mo is still going to get his goals, but in terms of our build-up, it’s how comfortable and calm we have to be and play more as a team.

“We’re not in a rush to attack, we want to have the ball and break teams down and that gives us a chance, if we give the ball way, we can go and press.

“I feel in the past it was a rush to get the ball back and it was a little bit too direct, up and down, up and down.

“Now it’s going to be where he wants us to have all the ball and just completely kill teams.”

Sounds good to us, Curtis!

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Liverpool attacker Diogo Jota has become the latest to return from his holiday and link up with Arne Slot's squad. He has met up with his colleagues in Pittsburgh ahead of this evening's friendly with Real Betis, immediately making a fitness admission.

Thanks in part to Cristiano Ronaldo and his domineering presence, Jota had to settle for a relatively peripheral role for Portugal at Euro 2024. Liverpool might have been quietly pleased, given his injury history, although there must have been questions in the country after a quarter-final exit.

In any case, now he is back from his break, there is little doubt that Jota will be a more central part of Slot's plans. The club's most clinical finisher by a distance last season, keeping him fit would be a massive boost.

READ MORE: Liverpool transfer news LIVE: Slot gives Alexander-Arnold update, Tsimikas 'leaving', Gordon offered contract

READ MORE: Kostas Tsimikas announces 'I'm leaving' Liverpool with unusual transfer declaration

Jota has already made a related — and entirely expected — admission on that front. Arriving yesterday evening, he spoke briefly to Liverpoolfc.com.

"It’s great to be back with the team, I just landed in Pittsburgh," he said. "Now I’ll get some rest and get ready to start working tomorrow.

"I’ll try to catch up [fitness-wise] with the team, do my physical work first to be ready to start doing my tactical work to get ready for the new season."

It's no surprise at all to learn that Jota expects to be behind his teammates in the fitness stakes. While he will probably have been doing some level of individual work even while on his break, those who were at the AXA Training Centre before flying out to America have been rigorously put through their paces.

Jota's teammates have already been put through their paces. (Image: Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

Much like Jurgen Klopp, Slot places a firm focus on intensity. While the lactate test is gone, there is a similarly brutal introduction under the new regime.

Whether Jota gets the exact same treatment while out in the US remains to be seen. But it makes sense that he will also be starting with physical work before being dropped into full training.

For the time being, it certainly sounds like we need to temper any expectations of seeing Jota in action. He should have a chance to feature at the tail-end of the US tour, but it will take him some time to get up to speed, and he certainly won't play a part against Real Betis.

Liverpool.com says: There's no cause for concern here. Jota will essentially start his own personal pre-season on a slight delay — if anything, it's good to hear that he intends to catch up to his teammates, hopefully hinting at a slightly expedited program that gets him on the pitch sooner rather than later.

However, it does underline the tricky situation Slot is in with all of these gradual returns. Rejoining the squad is only the start: for the likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Alexis Mac Allister, who are not expected back until after the US tour, there has to be a real question over whether they will be ready for the start of the Premier League season.

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The Premier League, EFL, FA, and Women’s Super League (WSL) have announced a new code of conduct for gambling-related agreements in football. The code, which will be implemented at the start of the 2024-25 season, is designed to regulate gambling sponsorships across the professional game, emphasising four key principles: protection, social responsibility, reinvestment, and integrity. A key aspect of the code is its emphasis on reinvestment. Revenue generated from gambling sponsorships must be redirected into football-related infrastructure and community programmes. This includes improvements...

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