Inter Milan Targets Curtis Jones as Liverpool Considers Key Summer Sale

Inter Milan have stepped up their pursuit of Curtis Jones, sensing an opportunity to prise a frustrated midfielder away from Anfield before the window closes.

Talks are ongoing, with sources indicating the Serie A club are optimistic about striking a deal for the 25-year-old. The attraction is mutual. Jones is understood to be open to the move and ready to swap a rotational role at Liverpool for a more central stage at San Siro.

He has grown tired of being a squad piece.

Last season told the story. Jones featured in 34 Premier League games in 2025-26, but started only 18 as Liverpool slipped to fifth. He was involved, but rarely indispensable. For a player entering what should be his prime years, that lack of status has started to bite.

The consequences stretched beyond Merseyside. Jones missed out on Thomas Tuchel’s England squad for the 2026 World Cup, a brutal marker of where he currently sits in the pecking order for club and country.

A sale would be significant for Liverpool. Andoni Iraola has yet to sanction a major outgoing for a fee this summer; Jones could be the first. For a club that has long prided itself on balancing emotion with ruthless squad management, this would be another hard-headed decision.

Jones’ journey at Liverpool has not been a failure story. Far from it. Since his debut in the 2018-19 season, he has grown from academy hopeful to reliable first-team option. In four of the last six campaigns he has made at least 34 appearances in all competitions, contributing to a trophy haul that includes a Premier League title.

He has had chances. Plenty of them. He has been trusted in big games, rotated through different roles, and given time to grow.

What he has never quite become is untouchable.

The numbers underline why the debate around his future feels so cold-blooded. As of 5 August, data from Fotmob shows Jones averaging 0.05 goals per game, with a 0.13 xG, 1.07 shots, 0.09 assists, 0.98 chances created, 4.76 duels won at a 50.7 per cent success rate, 1.87 tackles and 0.84 interceptions.

Those are solid figures. They are not spectacular. He does a bit of everything without dominating any one area of the pitch.

Set him alongside Dominik Szoboszlai, who drives Liverpool’s attack with incision and end product, or Ryan Gravenberch, whose defensive work and physical presence stand out, and the contrast becomes starker. Jones sits somewhere in between, a link player rather than a specialist, useful but easier to sacrifice when the squad needs reshaping.

That is why a potential exit will not shock many inside Anfield. There is affection for a homegrown midfielder who has worn the shirt with pride, but also a recognition that Liverpool’s midfield has to keep evolving. Sentiment rarely survives a serious rebuild.

Inter, on the other hand, see opportunity. A technically clean, tactically schooled midfielder with Champions League experience and a point to prove fits the profile of a club that has rebuilt itself smartly in recent years. For Jones, the prospect of a fresh league, a new system, and a manager willing to hand him a more defined role is understandably appealing.

He wants to play. Every week. Not just when the rotation wheel lands on his number.

Liverpool’s summer decisions may not stop with Jones. Cody Gakpo has emerged as a top target for Tottenham Hotspur, who are eyeing an upgrade to their forward line. The Dutch international’s standing at Anfield could come under pressure after the arrival of Victor Munoz and the possible signing of Bradley Barcola, crowding the attacking positions.

If Spurs move decisively, Liverpool will again have to decide how far they are prepared to go in reshaping a squad that, for all its quality, finished outside the top four.

For now, though, the spotlight rests on Jones. A player who grew up dreaming of Anfield nights may soon be walking out under the lights at San Siro instead.

If Inter get their way, Liverpool’s first big departure of the summer will be a local lad who never quite became the cornerstone many once expected him to be.