Curtis Jones Joins Inter Milan for £30m as Liverpool Era Ends
Inter Milan have completed the signing of Curtis Jones from Liverpool in a £30m (€35m) deal, drawing a firm line under a 16-year Anfield story and opening up a fresh tactical puzzle for Andoni Iraola.
Liverpool will receive a fixed £25.7m fee, with a further £4.28m tied to add-ons. A 10 per cent sell-on clause has been included, underlining the club’s belief that Jones’ value could climb again in Serie A.
From academy kid to Anfield mainstay
Jones joined Liverpool at the age of nine. He leaves as a 23-year-old with 228 senior appearances and 22 goals, a player who grew from local hope to dependable squad pillar.
He broke into the first team in the 2018/19 season and stayed there. Across those years he lifted two Premier League titles, two Carabao Cups, the FA Cup and the Club World Cup, and was part of the side that finished Champions League runners-up in 2022.
His departure comes in the final year of his contract, a pragmatic decision by Liverpool’s hierarchy but an emotional one for a player who has known no other club.
Jones marked the move with a long, heartfelt farewell, stressing how he arrived as “a kid with a dream” and leaves “as a man with a family of my own”. He thanked academy staff, managers, backroom teams and team-mates, and closed with a simple promise to the supporters: “I will always be one of you… YNWA.”
Inter’s English influx grows
Jones becomes the third England international to walk through the doors at Inter this window, following John Stones and Djed Spence into Cristian Chivu’s squad.
For Inter, the deal is smart business: a versatile midfielder with European experience, a winning habit and room to grow. For Jones, it is a hard reset – a new league, a new culture, a new benchmark.
Iraola loses a trusted option
At Liverpool, the move lands squarely on Iraola’s desk. He wanted to keep Jones. He said so. But the club moved, the player moved, and now the head coach must reshape his midfield without one of last season’s most flexible operators.
Jones made 49 appearances under former boss Arne Slot, 34 of them in a turbulent Premier League title defence. He shared minutes with Dominik Szoboszlai, Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch, and even filled in at right-back when required. He was never the headline act, but he was always in the script.
Iraola is expected to lock in a 4-2-3-1 shape, with Florian Wirtz used centrally in his favoured No 10 role. That change pushes the battle line deeper: Szoboszlai, Mac Allister and Gravenberch now fighting for just two slots in the double pivot ahead of the back four.
The Basque coach can also turn to Wataru Endo’s experience and the emerging talent of 19-year-old Trey Nyoni, whose pre-season form has impressed the staff. Iraola has already talked up Nyoni as a genuine option to step into the space Jones leaves behind.
And if those internal solutions are not enough, the £30m fee is there to be recycled.
Wide priorities, big numbers
Jones’ exit does not alter Liverpool’s main transfer priority. The club have been pushing hard to strengthen in wide areas.
Two bids for Brighton’s Yankuba Minteh have already been rejected, the latest worth £60m. Liverpool are also pursuing Paris Saint-Germain winger Bradley Barcola, though the European champions value him at a staggering £145m.
Cody Gakpo, meanwhile, is drawing interest from Spurs, but Liverpool, at this stage, do not want to sell.
So the midfield loses one familiar face while the recruitment drive keeps its eyes on the flanks. The squad is shifting, the profile is changing, and Iraola must knit it all together.
Jones, for his part, has his new chapter. Inter have their man. Liverpool have money to play with and a hole to fill.
How they answer that question may define the feel of Anfield’s next era.
