Curtis Jones Transfer Saga: Inter Milan Intensifies Pursuit

Inter Milan are refusing to let go of Curtis Jones – and the pressure on Liverpool is starting to tell.

The Serie A champions have already seen an opening bid of £21.7m knocked back, with Liverpool signalling they want closer to £34m for their academy product, according to The Athletic. That stance may be softening. Fabrizio Romano has reported that the Reds could now be willing to deal at around €35m (£30m), a figure that drags this saga into far more dangerous territory for Liverpool fans hoping he stays.

On his YouTube channel and later on X, Romano underlined just how serious Inter are. Jones, he says, is a “priority” target. Inter remain “keen” and a new offer is “anticipated”, with the outcome now hinging on talks between the clubs. Crucially, Romano also stated what many at Anfield suspected: the player wants the move.

That desire is being read into every detail. On Sunday, Curtis Jones was nowhere to be seen.

Liverpool played Como twice, Andoni Iraola using 24 players across the two games and naming another six on the bench who didn’t get on the pitch. Thirty players involved in some capacity – and still no sign of the Reds’ number 17. Not even a late cameo. Not even a place among the substitutes.

Officially, Iraola has pointed to a minor hip issue, as reported by The Standard. On paper, that explains the absence. In reality, the optics are impossible to ignore. When a player is at the centre of an intense transfer chase, and then disappears completely from a matchday group that large, the rumour mill doesn’t just turn – it roars.

The pattern is clear. A rejected bid, a lowered asking price, a player omitted, a trusted transfer reporter insisting the midfielder wants San Siro. The tide is running one way.

For Liverpool, this is not just any sale. Jones is a Toxteth-born academy graduate, the last Scouser standing in the current first-team squad. Losing him would cut another emotional thread between the stands and the pitch, even if the move might make cold financial sense for a player who has never quite nailed down an undisputed starting role.

For Inter, the equation is simpler. They see a 25-year-old English midfielder entering his prime, technically gifted, tactically flexible, and available at a price they believe can be negotiated down. Having already tested Liverpool’s resolve once, they are expected to come back again – this time armed with the knowledge that the player is open to the switch.

The next bid now feels inevitable. The only real question is whether Liverpool hold their line, or whether the next call from Milan is the one that finally breaks it.