Inter Milan Probes Liverpool's Stance on Curtis Jones Amid Captaincy Controversy
Inter Milan have moved to probe Liverpool’s resolve over Curtis Jones, sounding out the club via intermediaries about a summer move for the midfielder.
James Horncastle reports for The Athletic that the Serie A champions have indicated a willingness to pay around €35m (£29.9m). Liverpool, though, are understood to value the 25-year-old closer to €40m (£34.2m). For now, there is daylight between the clubs.
The timing is no coincidence.
Armband anger goes viral
Jones has been at the centre of a minor storm since footage emerged of him clashing with teammates after Liverpool’s 1-0 win over Wrexham. What should have been a routine pre-season outing in Wales ended with the Scouser visibly furious on the pitch, arguing with Dominik Szoboszlai and Kostas Tsimikas.
The flashpoint? The captain’s armband.
Cameras caught Tsimikas tossing the armband to the turf, an act that clearly inflamed Jones, already irritated by how the armband had changed hands. Szoboszlai, wearing it before being substituted, appeared to pass the responsibility on to the Greek left-back rather than to Jones, a long-serving Academy graduate and one of the senior Scousers in the squad.
In a friendly, it looked petty. To Jones, it clearly cut deeper. The Liverpool captaincy, and the hierarchy around it, carries a weight at Anfield that goes far beyond a piece of fabric.
The clip raced around social media. So did the questions. Was this a one-off outburst, or a sign of something more unsettled beneath the surface?
Inter sense an opening
Inter have chosen their moment. With Jones’ contract running until the summer of 2027, Liverpool are under no pressure to sell. But a visibly frustrated player, still working out his place under a new head coach, is exactly the kind of situation an elite recruitment department tries to exploit.
A move to Serie A could tempt Jones. Inter can dangle the prospect of a more central role in a title-winning side, a different tactical environment, and a league that has increasingly become a haven for technically gifted midfielders looking to reset their careers.
Liverpool, for their part, must weigh more than numbers on a spreadsheet. Jones is homegrown, deeply tied to the club’s identity and to the city. He is also entering what should be his prime years. Selling now, at a discount to their valuation, would be a statement in itself.
Iraola’s stance: admiration and a warning
New head coach Andoni Iraola has already nailed his colours to the mast. He has spoken in glowing terms about Jones, both as a player and as a personality inside the dressing room.
“I rate Curtis very highly. For me he is a great, great player and I hope he can continue with us and continue performing the way he has been performing,” Iraola said, underlining both his admiration and his intention.
“It’s very important that he’s Scouse, that he’s from here. I also like the personality. From the outside at least, he looks like a player with good character and I hope we can keep him, not only for this year but for more time.”
The message is clear: in Iraola’s ideal version of Liverpool, Jones is not a fringe option. He is part of the core. A symbol of a return to intensity-first football and a bridge between the club’s local roots and its global ambitions.
Words, though, only go so far. Jones will want minutes, responsibility, and clarity over his role. The armband incident, trivial as it might seem on the surface, hints at a player who feels he has earned a certain standing and is ready to assert it.
A decision that cuts to Liverpool’s identity
For Liverpool, this is about more than a €5m gap in valuation. It is about what kind of team Iraola wants to build, and how much space there is in it for a Scouse midfielder who has grown up with the club’s expectations on his shoulders.
Inter have made their move, sensing opportunity in a moment of tension. Liverpool have drawn their line in the sand on price and publicly backed the player.
Now the question shifts to Jones himself: does he buy into Iraola’s vision of Liverpool enough to fight for his place, or does the pull of a starring role in Milan prove stronger as his prime years loom into view?
