Curtis Jones gives ringing endorsement of Arne Slot in exciting Liverpool update

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 .

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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."

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.