Curtis Jones Transfer Saga: Inter's Pursuit of Liverpool Midfielder
Inter have picked their next midfield battle, and it leads straight to Anfield.
The Serie A champions have lodged a £30 million bid for Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones, a move designed to bring the 25-year-old to San Siro before the window closes. Liverpool’s response was swift and cold. According to Gazzetta, the Premier League club knocked back the offer and made it clear they want a figure closer to €40m before even thinking about losing one of their own academy products.
For Inter, that hasn’t dulled the appetite. It has sharpened it.
Chivu’s request, Marotta’s mission
Inside Inter’s corridors of power, this is no casual enquiry. President Beppe Marotta and sporting director Piero Ausilio have already sat down over a strategic dinner with head coach Cristian Chivu to map out the next phase of their mercato.
Jones was not just on the list. He was the name.
Chivu has asked specifically for the Liverpool midfielder to bolster his options in the middle of the pitch. In his system, he wants a “seventh” midfield option with a disruptive edge, someone who can break patterns, press aggressively, and give him a different gear when games tighten. In his eyes, Jones fits that role perfectly.
The timing suits the player as well. On Merseyside, Jones has slipped to the fringes under new manager Andoni Iraola, watching others move ahead of him in the pecking order. His frustration has grown, and the prospect of a fresh start in Italy has clear appeal. Reports suggest he would welcome a move to San Siro.
He would walk into a dressing room already preparing for an English accent. Inter are finalising a deal for Manchester City defender John Stones, who is in Italy undergoing medical tests. If that move is completed, Jones would not be the lone Premier League arrival in Milan this summer.
A crowded midfield and a necessary clear-out
Desire alone won’t get this deal done. Inter’s midfield is already overloaded, and the club know they must sell before they can seriously push Liverpool towards a compromise.
The most delicate case is Davide Frattesi. The Italy international wants out, eager to restart a career that has stalled in the Nerazzurri rotation. Inter, though, have yet to receive an offer that matches their valuation, leaving him in limbo and clogging up both space and budget.
Kristjan Asllani is also on the list of players expected to move on, as the club look to reshape the depth chart. Young midfielder Ebenezer Akinsanmiro has already gone, joining Monza and freeing up one more slot.
For Inter, these aren’t cosmetic changes. Offloading the fringe options has become a hard condition for any serious move for Jones. Without sales, there is no room – financially or tactically – for the Liverpool man.
Inter’s waiting game with Liverpool
So Inter will wait. And they will do it on their own terms.
The Italian side are prepared to drag this pursuit deep into August, betting that time and circumstance will start to work against Liverpool. If Jones remains on the periphery during pre-season and beyond, the risk for the Reds is clear: a homegrown player, developed in their own system, left parked on the sidelines as the window ticks towards its final days.
Inter believe that tension could eventually crack Liverpool’s stance. The hope in Milan is that the English club, faced with the prospect of an unhappy squad player and a shrinking market, will soften their demands and edge closer to Inter’s price range as the deadline looms.
While Liverpool embark on their pre-season tour through Hong Kong and Perth, the real negotiation work will be happening thousands of miles away. Marotta and Ausilio are staying in Europe, fully focused on keeping lines open with Anfield and ready to move the moment an opening appears.
For now, it is a stand-off: Liverpool holding out for their number, Inter convinced that patience and pressure will bend it. The question is simple, and it will define this saga:
Who blinks first?
