Diogo Jota is another example of Jurgen Klopp buying players “that fit into his system”, says John Barnes, with a Liverpool legend claiming the Portuguese would not have made the same kind of impact at Barcelona or Real Madrid.
A summer signing from Wolves has slotted seamlessly into the fold at Anfield.
Jota had been tipped by many to thrive on Merseyside, with the 23-year-old’s game tailor-made for the reigning Premier League champions.
His tireless running and keen eye for goal have allowed him to star across the minutes he has been given, with an impressive run of form seeing him find the target on six occasions across his last four appearances – including a Champions League hat-trick against Atalanta.
Plenty are now calling for him to be handed a starting role ahead of Roberto Firmino, with Klopp facing some big selection calls.
Barnes admits that Jota is staking a serious claim for a No.9 role, but is eager to point out that none of the attackers available to Liverpool – including Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane – would be as productive elsewhere.
The Reds legend told BonusCodeBets: “Klopp buys players that fit into his system. If Diogo Jota went to another club he won’t be able to do what he’s doing at Liverpool, neither would Sadio Mane, neither would Mohamed Salah.
“Klopp is not turning them into good players, they are good players, Liverpool’s system and style suits them.
“If Jota goes to Barcelona, for example, he won’t go there and score loads of goals or play as well. I don’t think any of the Liverpool players would and that’s what the club wants, to find players who can suit their system to be successful.
“It doesn’t matter whether they’re doing it at other clubs or not, look at Fabinho, he might have been wanted by Manchester City or Barcelona but he does well at Liverpool because Klopp knows how he wants his team to play.
“Jota is a fantastic player, but there’s no way that Jota would be able to go to Real Madrid and do the same thing, it’s all down to Jurgen Klopp and finding those players that suits his style.”
Barnes, who admits to being pleasantly surprised at how quickly Jota has settled at Liverpool, still believes that Brazil international Firmino will be favoured by Klopp in big games – such as Sunday’s trip to Manchester City.
He added: “Mane, Salah and Firmino are still the front three, I don’t think Jota is all of a sudden going to 100% start all of the games.
“But of course, Liverpool now have competition for places and they know that whenever he is needed Jota can come into the team and play a part.
“The other players they have had, [Xherdan] Shaqiri or [Divock] Origi, would not be able to come in and maintain the same quality over a long period of time, but with Jota you can.
“There’s Thiago in midfield too, so those two signings have helped Liverpool get strength in depth. They don’t have to play all the time, Klopp can maintain consistency.”