Inter Open Talks With Liverpool Over €35m Curtis Jones Deal
Inter Milan have opened talks with Liverpool over a possible transfer for midfielder Curtis Jones, according to reporting by The Guardian on Wednesday. The Italian champions are pursuing a deal that could reach €35 million, or about £30 million, for the 25-year-old. No agreement has been reached, making the proposed move an active negotiation rather than a completed transfer.
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The Guardian reported that Jones has been on Inter’s list of targets since January. Inter made a €25 million offer in June, but that bid was unsuccessful. Liverpool valued their academy graduate closer to €40 million at that stage, although Jones is now in the final year of his contract and there has been no sign of an agreement on an extension.
Intermediaries acting for Inter contacted Liverpool in July with a proposal to pay up to €35 million. Negotiations between the clubs began on Wednesday. The report said Liverpool would be likely to approve Jones’s departure if Inter offered the full amount under discussion, but that remains conditional. Inter’s willingness to pay Tottenham €35 million for Djed Spence last week is being viewed as a benchmark for the Jones talks.
Jones has been with Liverpool since he was nine and has spent his career at his boyhood club. The Toxteth-born midfielder has also made six appearances for England. Despite that progress, he has not established himself as a regular first-team starter at Liverpool and appeared frustrated at points during last season under Arne Slot, according to The Guardian.
Andoni Iraola, who replaced Slot as Liverpool’s head coach, emphasized at his unveiling that he wanted to keep Jones and preserve a local identity within the squad. Liverpool must also account for Inter’s continued pursuit and the possibility that Jones could leave without a transfer fee next summer if his contract expires without an extension.
For now, the central facts remain that talks are under way and the clubs have not reached an agreement. Inter’s reported ceiling is closer to the price Liverpool may accept than the rejected June offer, but the proposed €35 million fee has not yet been finalized. Jones therefore remains a Liverpool player while negotiations continue.
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