'Top player' - Liverpool youngster recognised among the best passers is Jurgen Klopp's secret weapon

Liverpool fans can look to any number of players for their importance this season but one player certainly deserves more credit.

Harvey Elliott has been a key figure in terms of his availability and performance across all competitions this season. By no means the first name on the team sheet; at full strength he wouldn't start ahead of Mohamed Salah or Dominik Szoboszlai but that's not an issue because Klopp holds him in the highest regard.

Having already played 105 times for Liverpool before the age of 21, his rise from a 16-year-old prodigy at Fulham has been gradual and Klopp recently waxed lyrical over the highly-talented midfielder. “Top performance. And Harvey is a top player,” the manager said in his press conference in late-February. “One hundred games for Liverpool FC in not the worst period of the club's history, where you cannot afford players who [just] play the position, that's a proper sign." Only three players have made more appearances this season (Luis Diaz, Cody Gakpo and Joe Gomez) and he has been part of every matchday squad, failing to feature in just five games. It's incredible. His recent run has also seen him become the only outfield player to have started the last 6 games (in 19 days). He's been crucial in a hectic fixture schedule but his overall game has also improved hugely on last season.

In fact, according to Wyscout, out of all the midfielders in the Premier League who have played at least 1,000 minutes this season Elliott has averaged the most key passes (1.08 per 90) - even more than second place Martin Odegaard (0.92 per 90). Plus, he still ranks 7th overall out of players in every position which is incredible for someone yet to turn 21.

Klopp has given him a platform to develop despite the fact he isn't a regular starter in what has been brilliant man-management. When he departs, there will be a question over whether the new manager will have the same faith.

He broke through in 2021 as the right-sided central-midfielder but displacing Szoboszlai has proven to be very difficult due to the form of the Hungarian but Elliott has proven over the last few months - a period in which the former RB Leipzig midfielder has been unavailable through injury - that he can compete and even start ahead of him and it will be interesting to see if he's trusted in big games in the business end of the season.