Inter Pushes for Curtis Jones as Liverpool Sticks to £35m Price
Inter Milan have come back for Curtis Jones. Liverpool still aren’t blinking.
The Serie A champions have revived their pursuit of the midfielder with a fresh proposal worth around £30 million ($40.5m), testing the resolve of a club that insists his price is £35m ($47.2m) and not a penny less.
For now, that gap holds the deal in limbo.
Inter won’t go away
Inter’s interest in Jones hasn’t arrived out of nowhere. They first made their move in January, only to be shut down quickly. Liverpool, deep into the winter window, refused to entertain any major outgoings at that stage, according to the Liverpool Echo.
They tried again early last month with a bid in the region of £21m ($28.3m). That offer was brushed aside almost instantly. The numbers were too far apart, and Liverpool saw little point in a drawn-out negotiation when their valuation sat so much higher.
Yet Inter have stayed at the table. Agents working on their behalf have reopened dialogue with Anfield, making it clear the Nerazzurri are prepared to raise their offer and get closer to Liverpool’s line in the sand.
They’re not there yet.
Liverpool’s stance: pay up or walk away
Inside Liverpool, the figure has been consistent: £35m. That is the number for a sale to even be considered.
Jones, born in the city centre and a product of the club’s academy, has just one year left on his current deal. That contract situation gives Inter a sliver of leverage, but Liverpool are not acting like a club under pressure to sell.
New sporting director Richard Hughes and head coach Andoni Iraola must now decide whether the balance has tipped. Cash in on a player entering the final year of his deal, or back the manager’s belief that Jones can still be central to what comes next at Anfield.
Up to this point, the answer has been to hold firm.
A local lad at a crossroads
Jones made his Liverpool debut in January 2019 and has since amassed 228 appearances in all competitions. The numbers tell you he’s been involved; his recent frustration tells you he wants more.
At 23, he is pushing for regular, guaranteed starts rather than a rotational role. That desire for consistent first-team football is precisely what makes him attractive to Inter and problematic for Liverpool. A player who wants to be central to the project is far harder to keep on the fringes.
Iraola, though, has been clear about where he stands. Speaking earlier this month, he underlined how highly he rates the midfielder and his determination to keep him on Merseyside.
“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. “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.”
Those are not the words of a coach ready to sign off on a sale.
Inter’s calculation vs Liverpool’s identity
For Inter, this is a calculated move. They see a technically gifted, homegrown midfielder entering the final year of his contract at a club undergoing transition. From their side of the table, that often leads to compromise.
Liverpool see something different: a local talent, trusted by the head coach, with a body of work behind him and a ceiling still to hit. Letting a player like that leave on the cheap would cut against the grain of how they want to manage both value and identity.
The Italian champions have already edged their bid upwards once. The question now is whether they are willing to close that last £5m gap, or whether Liverpool’s stance forces them to walk away.
Jones, caught between a club that made him and a giant abroad that wants to build around him, waits for the next move.
If Inter come back again, do Liverpool finally bend – or does a scouse midfielder become the first big statement of Iraola’s new era?
