The beginnings of Liverpool 2.0 seem encouraging for Jürgen Klopp. His team may be happy with how the current season has started as we enter the international break.

It was appropriate that Liverpool witnessed a performance that a prime version of the Dutchman would have been pleased with on the same day that Gini Wijnaldum announced that he was following Jordan Henderson in making the decision to sign for Steven Gerrard and Al Ettifaq in Saudi Arabia.

Formerly, Jürgen Klopp’s squad was renowned for possessing a serviceable midfield trio that wasn’t exactly flashy or imaginative. Along with Wijnaldum and Fabinho, who also relocated to the Middle East this summer, Henderson and Wijnaldum were frequently present. James Milner would occasionally decide to travel to Brighton instead.

It would be unfair to characterize those players as nothing more than a launching pad for Andy Robertson, Trent Alexander-Arnold, and the fabled front three of Sadio Mané, Roberto Firmino, and Mohamed Salah — two more ex-Liverpool stars who are currently in Saudi Arabia and a third whom the region would desperately like to attract — but there can be little doubt that Liverpool 2.0 is appearing to be an upgraded version.

Against Aston Villa, Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai and Curtis Jones simply smothered Unai Emery’s side, who persisted with trying to play out from the back regardless. Liverpool’s central trio were just as robust and defensively aware as Fabinho, Henderson and Wijnaldum, but with plenty of added spark in the final third.

Mac Allister, playing a deeper role, was quietly excellent. Picking up any loose balls that somehow got past the relentless front three and Jones and Szoboszlai, who will take more headlines, the Argentine produced a classic Wijnaldum trick on multiple occasions.

He plays the number six role very differently to Fabinho, but was equally as effective here. Like Wijnaldum used to, Mac Allister used his body expertly to get in front of Aston Villa players and his reading of the game allowed him to second-guess his opponents. Like Wijnaldum, he is deceptively difficult to win possession back from.

The former Brighton star was not launching into tackles but niftily nicked the ball away countless times before setting up another attack for those in front of him. The decision to field Jones over Wataru Endō was more than justified, even if it meant Mac Allister playing further back.

On this evidence, there should be no qualms about fielding the same trio in future games. Indeed, that appears to be the combination most likely to play against Wolves as things stand. The only frustration for a Liverpool side that has begun the season well is that its next fixture is the other side of an international break that could halt the positive momentum.

It is only four games, but the Reds have already shown a glimpse of what Liverpool 2.0 edition under Klopp might look like. Already, it looks to be exciting. In Mac Allister, Liverpool has a $44m (£35m/€41m) midfielder who combines greater on-ball value than the originals in the role with a similar level of defensive capability.

That is matched by Jones and $76m (£61m/€70m) Szoboszlai too, while the hope is that Ryan Gravenberch can reach the same heights after arriving from Bayern Munich. Watching on from the stands at Anfield, the $43m (£34m/€40m) ex-Ajax starlet was left impressed with what he saw.

What Endō’s role at Anfield is long-term remains to be seen, but in the other additions worth a total of $163m (£129m/€151m), Liverpool has added players perfect for this new system and evolved way of playing.

Klopp’s first Liverpool team was clearly very effective and exciting, but his second might yet level up on both fronts. And it is in its midfield area — Mac Allister, Jones, Szoboszlai and more — that the biggest difference can already be found.