Liverpool should welcome back some key players from injury after the international break. It is exactly what Jürgen Klopp needs ahead of another crucial period.

When it comes to picking Liverpool’s most important player, there are a number of stars who would instantly spring to mind. Alisson Becker, Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah are perhaps the three most obvious ones.

In the next group down, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Diogo Jota, Alexis Mac Allister and Darwin Núñez might also be in the conversation, but Curtis Jones should not be discounted either.

Jones, who has missed the last four Premier League matches with an ankle issue, offers a huge amount of balance and poise in the center of the field. Without him, Liverpool is not quite so controlled.

Jürgen Klopp and Alexis Mac Allister during a Liverpool training session. (Image: Photo by John Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

After the international break, during which Jones might have received his first senior England call-up had he been fit, the Liverpool number 17 is expected to make a return from injury. Jürgen Klopp said he was the only player to be out lately who was likely to be back in time to face Brighton, with Alexander-Arnold and Jota potentially coming back the week after.

And if Jones is back straight away, it will give Klopp something of a midfield dilemma. Wataru Endō has received plenty of plaudits for his performances, and rightly so, but the best Liverpool midfield trio should be clear.

Mac Allister has been in great form over the past month or more playing in a more advanced role but the best version of Liverpool contains the Argentine alongside Jones and Dominik Szoboszlai. That means Mac Allister dropping deeper and Endō dropping out.

There are so many matches, of course, that the first-choice three will not often play alongside each other. Even if they start together, the five substitutions available in all competitions mean that after an hour or so, things will be changed to keep everyone fresh.

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But the control and balance that a Jones-Mac Allister-Szoboszlai midfield offers is exactly what Liverpool needed against Manchester United at Old Trafford. What actually happened there was that the midfield third was often completely vacant.

With Jones, Liverpool has someone who is creative and can spark attacks, but also someone who barely gives the ball away and wins it back quickly and intelligently. For that reason, he is one of the first names on the Liverpool teamsheet when he is fit.

As well as Endō has done in his absence, Jones’ return will be a welcome one for Klopp for that very reason. It might mean another change of role for Mac Allister but the sacrifice of that will be more than worthwhile.

Jones is just the first of many key players who should make a comeback in time to play a significant part of the Liverpool run-in this season. But he is absolutely one of the most important of the stars who are set for a return.