CURTIS JONES received a text from Jurgen Klopp proving that while he may be gone, those he left behind are far from forgotten.
The midfielder found the Liverpool legend's message after making his 100th Premier League appearance in Thursday's 3-1 comeback win over Leicester.
Jones, who marked the occasion with the goal that put the runaway leaders in the spotlight, revealed his surprise in the dressing room, saying: “Normally I would be texting family.
“Then I saw a text from Jurgen Klopp saying: 'Congratulations on 100 games and on to 500.'
“I thought, 'What is he talking about?' – then I checked it and I'm so proud.
“It was he who set up the team we have now – the foundation was there and Arne Slot continued it.”
The Dutchman is storming English football and the Champions League in his first season on this coast.
And Jones, 23, has become a crucial part of Slot's machine that is gobbling up the opposition both at home and abroad.
Now he has the stats to prove it, after declaring that he had “never been happier” as a player after just a few weeks of working with Slot.
The former Feyenoord boss also regularly checks his predecessor on the stars he has inherited.
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In fact, he was so happy with what he had that his only outfield purchase after arriving was 27-year-old Federico Chiesa from Juventus for £10 million.
Yet he has done so much more than just 'carry on' with a side that looked exhausted at the end of Klopp's nine-year reign last season, winning only the League Cup.
He is busy taking them to a new level as they top the Prem with a game in hand and lead the Champions League.
That text may have initially left Jones completely baffled.
But he is one of the players who transformed Slot after introducing his version of the adventurous Total Football philosophy developed by Dutch coaching legend Rinus Michels in the 1970s.
Jones made his breakthrough in England this year after being encouraged to be more careful with the ball. But he is far from the only one to benefit from Slot's new take on Klopp's heavy metal football.
Ryan Gravenberch, 22, was bought by the German from Bayern Munich for £34.2 million last season and was a ball-carrying forward whose dribbling style made him too inconsistent under Klopp.
Slot has reinvented his compatriot into one of the best performing midfielders in Europe.
Another Holland international, Cody Gakpo, who joined from PSV Eindhoven for £37m two years ago, has been in and out of Klopp's squad.
Last season, the left-sided forward scored 16 goals in 53 games.
His brilliant equalizer against the Foxes was his tenth goal this season in just 26 appearances and showed the newfound confidence the 25-year-old has under Slot.
In Klopp's final season, there were fears that Virgil van Dijk had passed his peak as the best central defender in the world.
Now he is not only the captain of Holland, but also the skipper of Slot, after Jordan Henderson left, and he is flourishing again.
The Leicester clash was his 50th Prem match in a row and having played every minute, the 33-year-old is only getting better with age.
Andy Robertson also started to look past his sell-by date and even after Slot came in, he struggled to maintain his old feisty, attacking full-back style.
But the 30-year-old Scotland captain is also a player who is now enjoying the new manager's methods. He only conceded a goal against Leicester after emerging in the penalty area with a header that hit the post.
Like all football-loving young people at home, Slot – born four years after the Netherlands was defeated 2-1 in the final by West Germany during the compelling 1974 World Cup season – grew up with Total Football.
The philosophy was based on the fact that any field player could take over the role of any teammate, regardless of position.
To maintain fluidity, each player must be able to play different roles during a game.
Johan Cruyff used it as manager of Barcelona; Pep Guardiola won the Champions League twice at Camp Nou as his disciple.
As a player, Slot idolized the pair before honing his coaching skills at SC Cambuur in 2016, before moving to AZ.
While making Feyenoord 2023 Dutch champions, he said: “Guardiola gives me the ultimate football pleasure.
“I'd rather watch Manchester City than any other team in the world.”
Guardiola, of course, is now in a desperate battle to help his side rediscover their metronomic passing game, which saw City become Prem champions for the fourth season in a row last season.
Slot may have started out channeling his inner Guardiola, but now he has outsmarted his tactical hero.
His methods seem to increase both the number of goals and points his pacey side scores.
At the beginning of November, Liverpool was one point behind Manchester City. Now they are fourteen points ahead, having played one game less, with an away trip to West Ham tonight.
They also score for fun and have scored two or more goals in 13 of their last 14 games.
Under Guardiola, City seemed invincible for so long. Now, after just one defeat in his reign, Slot is giving Liverpool that same unbeatable look.
And nothing he learns is doubly Dutch for his happy team.
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