Inter Milan Increases Pressure on Curtis Jones as Liverpool Softens

Inter Milan are refusing to let go of Curtis Jones – and Liverpool’s resolve is starting to look less rigid than it did at the start of the summer.

The 25-year-old’s future has hovered over Liverpool’s pre-season, and the situation moved again after Fabrizio Romano revealed that the Serie A champions are expected to return with a new bid for the midfielder, who’s understood to be keen on the move.

Liverpool have already knocked back an opening offer of £21.7m, with The Athletic reporting that the club initially set their valuation at around £34m. Inter, though, have never stepped away. Romano has consistently described Jones as a “priority” for the Nerazzurri, and now suggests Liverpool could be willing to deal at around €35m (£30m).

That gap is no longer a chasm. It’s a negotiation.

Jones left out as speculation grows

The noise around his future grew louder on Sunday.

Liverpool played two matches against Como, and Andoni Iraola used 24 different players across the pair of fixtures. Six more were named on the bench and didn’t feature. Jones was nowhere to be seen in either squad.

Not starting is one thing. Not even being called up when 30 players are involved is another.

Iraola has previously said the academy graduate has been managing a minor hip issue, as reported by The Standard, and that offers one explanation. Yet with talks over a fee seemingly edging closer to common ground, his absence inevitably feeds the sense that something is shifting behind the scenes.

Romano underlined that feeling with his latest update on X, writing that Inter “remain keen” on the England midfielder, with a new bid “anticipated” and the deal now resting on club-to-club talks, given that the player “wants the move”.

A local lad on the brink

For Liverpool, this is not just another squad decision. Jones is a Toxteth-born academy product and, as things stand, the only Scouser in the first-team group.

Losing him would cut another visible link between the dressing room and the city, even if the club feel the numbers on the table are becoming harder to ignore for a player who has never fully nailed down an undisputed starting role.

From Inter’s side, the picture is clearer. They see a technical, press-resistant midfielder entering his prime years, and they’ve made him a central target. Having had one bid rejected, they now sense Liverpool’s stance edging towards compromise and are expected to test it again.

The tide appears to be running one way. Liverpool have lowered their price. Jones is understood to be open to San Siro. Inter are lining up another offer.

The next proposal from Milan won’t just be another number on an email. It could be the one that ends Curtis Jones’ long Anfield story and starts a new chapter in Serie A.