Inter Milan Pursues Curtis Jones as Liverpool Holds Firm on Valuation

Inter Milan have come back for Curtis Jones. Liverpool have come back with a price.

The Serie A giants are pushing ahead in their pursuit of the 25-year-old midfielder and, according to the Daily Mail, have now indicated they are ready to go to around £30 million. Liverpool’s response is blunt: not enough. Inside Anfield, Jones is valued at a minimum of £35m, and so far there is no appetite to bend.

That gap is not a small detail. Liverpool have already dismissed an earlier Inter proposal worth £21.75m, a bid that effectively served as an opening knock on the door rather than a serious attempt to close it. Inter admire Jones, but admiration does not change the arithmetic. If they want him, they will have to pay Liverpool’s price, or something very close to it.

Liverpool are not shutting the conversation down completely. With Jones moving into the final year of his contract, the club are prepared to listen. What they are not prepared to do is let a homegrown, Premier League-tested midfielder walk out for what they see as a discount.

Inter’s long look at Jones

This is not a new crush from Milan. Inter’s interest has been open and sustained.

Sporting director Piero Ausilio made that clear earlier in the summer when he said: “Curtis Jones – we are paying attention to him. We didn't hide. We understand what the developments will be.” Those words were not a throwaway line. They signalled a player firmly on Inter’s radar, and the latest movement from Italy shows that interest has not cooled.

The pressure is now on Inter to decide how much they truly want him. They have edged up from their initial offer, but Liverpool’s stance has not shifted with them. The Premier League club see a player in his prime years, capable of covering multiple midfield roles, and they are pricing him accordingly.

Reshaping Liverpool under Andoni Iraola

All of this plays out against a broader reset at Anfield. Under new head coach Andoni Iraola, Liverpool are reshaping the squad and sharpening the depth chart.

Talks are ongoing over a deal for Bradley Barcola with Paris Saint-Germain, and the recruitment team are weighing up other positions as well. At the same time, there has been concrete interest in several of the club’s younger players after an eye-catching USA tour, with Luke Chambers, Lewis Koumas, Calum Scanlon and Ifeanyi Ndukwe all drawing enquiries.

Jones sits right at the crossroads of that planning. He has rarely been the headline act in Liverpool’s midfield, but he has been a reliable part of the supporting cast. With Dominik Szoboszlai, Alexis Mac Allister, Ryan Gravenberch and Florian Wirtz all prominent in the central areas, competition for minutes will remain fierce.

That intensity of competition cuts both ways. It makes Jones a valuable rotation option for Iraola, someone who understands the demands of the club and the league. It also raises the question of how big a role he can realistically expect, and whether a move abroad might offer him the guaranteed starts that every player in his mid-twenties craves.

Why Liverpool’s price is firm

Strip away the sentiment and the logic behind Liverpool’s valuation is straightforward.

Jones is homegrown. He has Premier League and European experience. He can operate as an advanced midfielder, drop deeper, or tuck into wider roles when the system requires it. Those traits carry a premium in the current market, particularly for English clubs trying to meet squad registration rules without diluting quality.

Depth wins seasons. With Champions League football returning and a new head coach trying to stamp his authority quickly, Liverpool cannot afford to hollow out the middle of the squad. Jones may not start every marquee fixture, but he is precisely the type of player managers lean on when injuries bite, fixtures pile up and the margins tighten.

That is why £30m does not quite land at Anfield. From Liverpool’s perspective, £35m is closer to a fair reflection of his quality, his status and the cost of replacing him with someone of similar profile. Even at that figure, some supporters would still feel a twinge of unease at losing a local lad who understands the club’s rhythm and expectations.

What happens next?

For now, there is no sense of panic on Merseyside. Liverpool are prepared to be patient, to hold their line and to make sure any decision on Jones fits the wider plan under Iraola rather than simply filling a line on the balance sheet.

The ball, in every sense, sits with Inter. Do they push again and move closer to Liverpool’s valuation, or do they walk away and look elsewhere for midfield reinforcement?

The answer to that will say plenty about how much they truly believe Curtis Jones is worth.