Liverpool’s Summer Transfer Dilemma: Curtis Jones Exit Looms
Liverpool’s summer has been loud without actually doing very much.
Three signings through the door, a new name linked almost every day, and yet the squad still carries obvious gaps. The club’s recruitment team are wrestling with Paris Saint-Germain over valuations for Ibrahim Mbaye and Bradley Barcola, and those talks have stalled before they’ve really started.
While Liverpool hesitate, the market is moving around them – and it could hit them where they can least afford it.
Inter’s midfield shuffle opens door for Curtis Jones exit
Curtis Jones is the Liverpool player most widely expected to leave before the window closes. He is into the final year of his contract at Anfield, there are no active discussions over an extension, and that combination usually only ends one way.
Liverpool know that with just 12 months left, they will not get full value for a homegrown midfielder entering his prime. Right now, the sticking point is the fee: what Liverpool want and what suitors are prepared to pay are not yet aligned.
That stand-off might not last.
According to TEAMtalk, Inter Milan have started to clear the decks. The Serie A champions have offered Davide Frattesi to Newcastle United, while the Premier League club have also asked about highly rated youngster Aleksandar Stankovic.
Newcastle need another midfielder after Bruno Guimaraes’ departure and have already failed to land Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg from Marseille. Inter’s intermediaries have now alerted them that Frattesi is available, with the 26-year-old Italy international told he can leave this summer.
Inter value Frattesi at around €30 million (£26m / $35m). Juventus have shown interest, but Newcastle have been informed he is on the market, and Frattesi is understood to be open to a move to England after previous Premier League attention.
That is where Liverpool come back into the story. TEAMtalk report that Inter are looking to make room for Jones and remain determined to bring the Liverpool midfielder to San Siro. Offloading Frattesi – and potentially Stankovic – would hand them the financial space to push hard for Jones.
If Inter cash in and come with a serious offer, Liverpool’s hand could be forced. Lose Jones, and their own transfer plans change overnight.
A risky hole in Liverpool’s “strongest” area
On paper, midfield is Liverpool’s most crowded department. In reality, it is one of the most uncertain.
Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister struggled to convince across last season. Form dipped, roles shifted, and the balance never quite felt right. That is why, despite the numbers, Andoni Iraola can’t be entirely sure whether this unit is about to click or creak.
Within that context, Jones looks less like a luxury and more like a necessity.
He knows the club, the league, the pressure. His profile fits Iraola’s high-energy, aggressive style. With the Spaniard already admitting his team are short of fitness, he will lean heavily on his bench. Jones, with his engine and versatility, is exactly the kind of player who can change a game after an hour.
Yet there is another complication. Jones’ trust in the project has taken a hit. After Arne Slot’s failure to give him a consistent role last term, the midfielder’s belief in his place at Liverpool has reportedly weakened. If he feels sidelined again, the pull of a starring role at Inter – and a fresh start in Serie A – becomes harder to resist.
Liverpool still have time to act. They can hold firm on their valuation, open contract talks, or start lining up a replacement in case Inter test their resolve.
What they cannot afford, if they are serious about challenging on all fronts, is to sleepwalk into losing a midfielder tailored to their new manager’s demands without a clear plan for what comes next.
