Liverpool Transfer News: Curtis Jones Price Tag Set Amid ‘Renewed’ European Interest

Jones appears to have hinted at his future with an eye-opening response to Mohamed Salah’s takedown of Arne Slot.

Curtis Jones has endured a curious season for Liverpool. | James Gill-Danehouse/Getty Images

Liverpool are expected to demand $46.9 million (£35 million) for Curtis Jones in response to renewed interest from Serie A champions Inter this summer, according to multiple reports.

Inter were heavily linked with a January move for Jones, who was supposedly open to a loan switch while struggling for game time on Merseyside, only to be swiftly rebuffed by Liverpool. Arne Slot would be justified in his decision to hang onto a versatile midfielder who has been called upon in 48 different matches this season, yet the 25-year-old’s quest for a regular starting spot remains unfulfilled.

Jones only has one year left on his contract and negotiations over an extension have not come to an agreement, per The Guardian. It is not clear whether Inter will meet Liverpool’s asking price for a player who they could sign for free in 12 months but a second approach this summer is described as “likely.”

The Reds feel vindicated in their valuation of Jones because it is roughly the same fee which Tottenham Hotspur paid for fellow English midfielder Conor Gallagher to extract him from Atlético Madrid in January, The Times claim.

There is also the prospect of Liverpool making a purchase from Inter. Dutch wingback Denzel Dumfries is thought to be on Slot’s radar and there would be no issue with any bargaining as the forward-thinking wide man reportedly as a release clause in his contract worth a relatively reasonable $29.5 million.

---

Jones Paves Way for His Own Exit With Arne Slot Flip-Flop

Curtis Jones (right) is the subject of interest from Inter. | Shaun Brooks-CameraSport/Getty Images

Jones represents a devilish dilemma for Liverpool’s hierarchy. The 25-year-old is a clearly talented player who just so happens to favor the only area of depth in the club’s jumbled roster: central midfield. Just because Jones can’t supplant a World Cup winner, the reigning Premier League Young Player of the Season or Liverpool’s best player doesn’t mean he isn’t worth having on the books.

There is also Jones’s background to consider. The proud Scouser is the last senior squad member from the city of Liverpool, presenting an emotional and logistical headache in the event of his sale. After 134 years of Liverpudlians in the first-team squad, there is also the matter of the Premier League’s homegrown rules to consider.

Slot may argue that a player’s committment to the manager is more important than his passport.

Jones was one of Slot’s most vocal fans upon the Dutch coach’s appointment, hailing how “we’re not in a rush to attack” which is “more me” and left him “the happiest I’ve been.” So fulsome was his praise of this more measured style of play, some fans considered it an attack on Jürgen Klopp. Almost two years later, Jones’s stance appears to have shifted.

The midfielder was one of several players to ‘like’ Mohamed Salah’s thinly veiled assault on Slot’s tactical schemes, posting a clapping hand emoji beneath his teammate’s call for a return to “heavy metal football.”

If Jones is to go to Serie A in search of a style of play which better suits his strength, Inter have been told their price.

---