Inter Milan's Standoff with Liverpool Over Curtis Jones Valuation

Inter Milan have run headlong into Liverpool’s hard line over Curtis Jones, with the Italian champions and the player both stunned by the Premier League club’s valuation after a second bid was knocked back.

The 25-year-old has already given the green light to a move to San Siro and now sees his Liverpool career as effectively over. The problem is the price.

Inter’s pursuit hits a wall

Inter first moved for Jones in January, holding talks over a possible deal before deciding to wait until the summer. They returned last week with intent and a concrete offer: around £18million (€21m, $24m).

Liverpool dismissed it almost instantly.

Inter came back again, this time with a package worth roughly £21million (€24m, $28m). Same answer. Rejected. The gap between the clubs remains, in the words of those close to the talks, “significant”.

From Inter’s side, this is not how they expected the negotiation to play out. They are dealing for a player with 12 months left on his contract, a player who has told Liverpool he wants to leave and has made it clear that Inter is his preferred – and effectively only – destination. Yet Liverpool are behaving as if they hold every card.

Liverpool dig in over homegrown value

Inside Anfield, the stance is unapologetic. Liverpool are understood to want around £35million (€40m, $46m) for Jones and see no reason to move far from that number.

Their argument leans heavily on the current English market. With Manchester City prepared to spend over £120m on Elliot Anderson, Liverpool believe the going rate for homegrown talent has shifted upwards again. In that context, they feel their valuation of an England-developed midfielder in his prime years is not only reasonable but necessary.

Club figures point to the homegrown premium, to Jones’ quality, and to the fact that, even with one year left on his deal, he remains a player of clear value. They are prepared to sell. They are not prepared to sell cheap.

Inter, though, see a very different picture.

Inter question Premier League logic

Sources close to the Serie A champions are baffled by Liverpool’s insistence on using Premier League benchmarks to frame this deal. From their perspective, the usual domestic dynamics simply don’t apply.

Jones wants Italy, not another English club. There is no bidding war. No rival Premier League side is lurking to push the fee higher. For Inter, that strips away much of the justification for an inflated price.

They also lean on the clock. With only 12 months left on his contract, they believe Liverpool’s negotiating position is weaker than the Premier League side are willing to admit. In their eyes, a club facing the prospect of losing a player for nothing next summer should be more open to compromise now.

The player’s camp is closer to that view than Liverpool’s.

Jones caught in the middle

Those representing Jones are understood to see a fee below £30million (€34.5m, $46m) as a fair middle ground – a figure that recognises his ability but also reflects his contractual situation and the limited market.

That ballpark sits much nearer Inter’s thinking than Liverpool’s current demand. What is not in doubt is Jones’ desire to move.

He is excited by the prospect of joining the reigning Italian champions and regards Inter as the right stage for the next phase of his career. The feeling has only intensified as his role at Liverpool has stagnated.

Jones started just 18 Premier League games in the 2025/26 season. Inside the club, he is respected, but he has never been a guaranteed starter. With Andoni Iraola now in charge and committed to a high-energy, relentless style, there are already suggestions that Jones is not the most natural fit for the new regime.

There is little expectation that his minutes will suddenly spike under Iraola. For a player entering what should be his peak years, that matters. It is pushing him towards the exit and towards San Siro.

A stand-off with time ticking

Inter have not stumbled into this chase. They have tracked Jones for months, tested the waters in January, and built a plan around landing him this summer. They remain convinced of his commitment to the move and have no intention of walking away lightly.

Liverpool, for their part, are not closing the door either. They are open to business, but only on terms they consider acceptable for one of their academy graduates. Letting a homegrown midfielder leave for what they view as a cut-price fee would send a message they are keen to avoid.

So the stand-off continues. A sizeable gap in valuation. A player eager to go. A buyer determined to get him. A seller just as determined not to blink.

Both clubs know the clock is running on Jones’ contract. The question now is simple: who gives ground first?