Curtis Jones is now the best in Europe at Jurgen Klopp's favourite tactic

Curtis Jones has developed into the best in Europe at a vital Jurgen Klopp tactic. The Liverpool midfielder is having a breakout season.

Curtis Jones was excellent for Liverpool throughout the backend of last season. His performances were enough to boost his standing in the squad as a whole - though, he was under threat over the summer.

An influx of midfielders risked pushing Jones far down the pecking order again. The Scouser has managed to see them all off, however, and is now firmly a regular in the starting XI.

That's partly down to just how reliable he is. Jones keeps the ball brilliantly and is in the 97th percentile for pass completion amongst midfielders across Europe's top five leagues.

But there's another area where he perhaps stands out more than anything - pressing. Jones has become a magnificent pressing player, something Liverpool sorely needed as both Jordan Henderson and James Milner left in the summer.

This is, of course, a hallmark of Jurgen Klopp's team. He wants that high press that pushes teams back, wins the ball up high, and operates as a sort of playmaker.

As Klopp once said, "no playmaker in the world can be as good as a good counter-pressing situation". Well, Jones gives those counter-pressing situations as well as anyone.

In fact, amongst midfielders, he gives them better than anyone. Jones currently leads Europe's midfielders in the top five leagues for tackles in the attacking third.

He currently averages 0.78 per 90 minutes, which leads Europe. Jones is also great at just getting in the way of passes - 90th percentile for blocking them.

As the 23-year-old improves, he's becoming more and more the ideal Klopp midfielder. Someone who can press high and win the ball back, while also consistently creating dangerous situations in the attacking third (Jones is 98th percentile for carries into the penalty area, for instance).

Of course, he's doing this at a time when Klopp is leaving and a new manager will come in with his own requirements. But with Jones playing like his, it's impossible to believe that any manager taking over this side won't love what he brings.

Stats per Fbref.