It was exactly the kind of performance Liverpool's recruitment team, scouring for new midfielders, would have greatly appreciated.
A composed, mature and disciplined first half away from home was followed by a more expansive showing after the break, culminating in a break that saw the player lay on arguably the crucial goal in what until then had been a hard-fought encounter.
In his early twenties, possessing plentiful Premier League experience and long established in the England international set-up, he fits the ideal profile of players signed under Fenway Sports Group. And, as was shown in his latest outing, he also possesses tactical flexibility having embraced a slightly new role in the centre of midfield that made good use of his ability to keep possession.
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The good news for Liverpool, then, is this player won't cost a single penny in transfer fees - because he already plays for them.
Curtis Jones is, of course, the midfielder in question, having posted a welcome reminder of his qualities with an impressive display in the engine room during the 6-1 Premier League romp at Leeds United on Monday evening, ideally suited to embrace the slightly different job required to give Trent Alexander-Arnold the space and freedom to step up into midfield.
It was a third successive start for a player whose progress during the last two seasons has been hampered by a succession of injuries, not always straightforward. Indeed, the setback that has forced him to miss large chunks of this campaign - a recurring stress response on a bone - has been described as an issue never before seen by the club's medical staff.
Jones had made only three very brief Premier League appearances from the bench post-World Cup before Liverpool's trip to Chelsea a fortnight ago, when he was handed only a second league start of the campaign after being thrust in at Nottingham Forest in October as a last-minute replacement for Thiago Alcantara.
And with the return game against Forest imminent on Saturday, Jones now finds himself in a very different situation.
An encouraging display at Stamford Bridge saw him keep his place against Arsenal after which his impressive showing at Elland Road just the second time he had played a full competitive 90 minutes since last May. His pass for Diogo Jota to score Liverpool's third was his first assist since October 2021, and even that owed much to the hard work of Mohamed Salah that then followed at home to Manchester City.
That came during the midfielder's best spell at Liverpool, scoring at Brentford and contributing a memorable hat-trick of assists in a man-of-the-match display in the 5-1 Champions League win at Porto. Not long afterwards, a freak eye injury sidelined him for two months, with the second half of the season such he failed to make even the bench for the League Cup final win over Chelsea.
The ongoing opportunity and Jones' grasping of it are both particularly timely as Liverpool will revamp their midfield in the summer given the departures of James Milner, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Two or possibly three new faces will arrive, with Chelsea's Mason Mount, Bayern Munich's Ryan Gravenberch and Brighton duo Alexis Mac Allister and Moises Caicedo among many being assessed. But of particular intrigue to Jones will be the interest in Conor Gallagher, a player of similar age, experience and also an England squad regular, albeit with the senior side having graduated from the under-21s.
The need to maintain a homegrown quota should work in favour of Jones, along with his knowledge of working under Jurgen Klopp. With 89 appearances, eight goals and 10 assists - along with four major honours - he can no longer be regarded an up-and-coming talent. Like another young English player in Liverpool's midfield, Harvey Elliott, Jones is a senior squad regular.
True to form, the 22-year-old has already intimated he isn't bothered by the speculation surrounding new arrivals. "I am a confident lad and I have the backing of the staff," he said earlier this month. "I've not heard anything, so I am here to play. I am not worried."
It may be coming with mere weeks remaining of the season. But Jones now has the chance to prove the adage better late than never.
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