Inter Pursues Curtis Jones as Liverpool Faces £30m Exit

Inter have stepped up their pursuit of Curtis Jones and are in active talks with Liverpool over a deal that is expected to end the midfielder’s long association with his boyhood club if the Italian champions reach a fee of around £30m.

The 25-year-old has been on Inter’s radar since January. They tested Liverpool’s resolve in June with a €25m offer, which was rejected, but the Serie A side have refused to let the trail go cold.

Liverpool initially valued the England international closer to €40m. That stance has softened. Jones is into the final year of his contract, there is no agreement in sight over an extension, and the club know that figure is unlikely to be met with the clock ticking.

The pressure finally told in July, when intermediaries acting for Inter approached Liverpool with a new proposal that could climb to €35m (£30m). Formal negotiations between the clubs began on Wednesday. There is no deal yet, but if Inter push their offer up to the suggested €35m, Liverpool are expected to give the green light to Jones’s departure.

Inside Anfield, Inter’s recent business has not gone unnoticed. Their willingness to pay Tottenham €35m for Djed Spence last week has been viewed as a reference point for what they can – and should – commit to Jones.

For Liverpool, the decision cuts deeper than a simple balance-sheet calculation. Jones has been at the club since the age of nine, rising from the academy pitches to the first team and earning six England caps along the way. Yet he has never fully nailed down a regular starting spot and often cut a frustrated figure last season under Arne Slot as minutes and influence fluctuated.

The dynamic changed again when Andoni Iraola replaced Slot as head coach. At his unveiling, Iraola spoke pointedly about the importance of retaining Jones, the Toxteth-born midfielder who embodies the club’s local identity, and of building a team that still reflects the city.

Now that ideal collides with hard reality. Inter are pushing hard, the risk of losing Jones for nothing next summer looms large, and Liverpool must decide whether sentiment and local roots outweigh a sizeable fee for a player entering the final year of his deal.

If Inter reach that €35m mark, the answer looks increasingly clear.