Curtis Jones on Verge of Liverpool Exit as Inter Talks Intensify

Inter have intensified talks with Liverpool over Curtis Jones, with the midfielder edging towards an Anfield exit if the Italian champions hit a fee of around £30m.

The 25-year-old, a Liverpool player since the age of nine, has been on Inter’s radar since January. They tested Liverpool’s resolve with a €25m offer in June, but that bid was rejected as the Premier League club held out for closer to €40m.

That stance has softened. Jones is into the final year of his contract, and there is no agreement in sight over an extension. With that clock ticking, Liverpool know their original valuation is unlikely to be met.

Inter’s intermediaries made their move again in July, presenting a structure that could take the deal up to €35m (£30m). Formal negotiations between the clubs began on Wednesday. There is no deal in place yet, but if Inter push their proposal up to the €35m mark, Liverpool are expected to approve Jones’s departure.

Inside the corridors at Anfield, Inter’s recent business has not gone unnoticed. Their willingness to pay Tottenham €35m for Djed Spence last week is being treated as a reference point for the Jones talks, a clear indication of what the Serie A side are prepared to spend on a player they really want.

For Jones, this feels like a crossroads. Capped six times by England and long tipped as a standard-bearer for Liverpool’s academy, he has never fully nailed down a regular starting role. Under Arne Slot last season he often cut a frustrated figure, on the fringes of the first XI rather than at the heart of it.

The arrival of Andoni Iraola as head coach briefly shifted the mood. At his unveiling, Iraola stressed how important it was to keep the Toxteth-born midfielder and to preserve a strong local identity in his squad. Those words landed well with supporters who see Jones as one of their own.

Now the reality of the market bites. Inter’s persistence, combined with the looming threat of losing Jones on a free transfer next summer, has forced Liverpool into a hard calculation: sentiment on one side, hard numbers on the other.

If Inter go to €35m, that equation suddenly looks brutally simple.