Inter Milan Sets Deadline for Curtis Jones Transfer

Liverpool’s summer of upheaval shows no sign of slowing, and now Inter Milan have slapped a date on their pursuit of Curtis Jones.

The Serie A champions want the Liverpool midfielder in Germany by 16 July, according to Gazzetta dello Sport, as they push to close a deal that has already tested the resolve of Anfield’s new regime.

Inter set the clock ticking on Jones

TEAMtalk reported earlier this month that Jones has already given the green light to a move to Inter, with the Italian club initially eyeing a fee in the region of €20m.

Liverpool are unmoved.

The club, already braced for the departures of Ibrahima Konaté and Andy Robertson on free transfers to Real Madrid and Tottenham respectively, are holding firm at around €30m. They also want a sell-on element included, seeing Jones as a valuable asset in a market where homegrown, technically strong midfielders do not come cheap.

Inter, though, have their own leverage. Jones has just a year left on his contract, and the player’s desire to make the switch is no secret in Italy. Gazzetta describes the Nerazzurri as “confident” of reaching an agreement, even as Liverpool dig in.

For Inter coach Cristian Chivu, the timing matters. With six players away in the World Cup squad — Manuel Akanji, Hakan Calhanoglu, Luka Sucic, Bonny, Lautaro Martínez and Marcus Thuram — he still expects to start pre-season with a sizeable group. The plan is clear: integrate both “old” and new faces early, with Jones among them if negotiations finally crack.

The stalemate is simple enough. Inter are working off a figure close to €20m. Liverpool see €30m as the benchmark to help fund their own rebuild in a summer when Mohamed Salah is also set to go, likely to Saudi Arabia or elsewhere, after confirming earlier this year that he will leave.

In that context, cashing in cheaply on Jones makes little sense. But the deadline now looming from Milan adds a layer of urgency Liverpool have so far resisted.

Ayari cools talk of Anfield move

While Inter push hard for Jones, another midfielder linked with Liverpool is doing his best to shut out the noise.

Brighton’s Yasin Ayari has been touted as a potential target after impressing for Sweden in their opening game of the tournament. His name has started to circulate around Anfield as one of several options being tracked for a reshaped midfield.

Ayari, though, insists he is thinking about one thing only.

“I’m in the World Cup bubble, as they say. I don’t have a clue about anything,” he told Fotbollskanalen when asked about negotiations over a move to Liverpool. “Everyone else is taking care of it for me. I’m just here and focusing on the World Cup.”

That is as firm a hand-off as any player can give in the middle of a major tournament. If talks are happening, they are happening well away from the Sweden camp.

Brighton, meanwhile, are already looking to the future. They have signed Zadok Yohanna from Ayari’s former club AIK Fotboll, and the 21-year-old is ready to play the role of guide.

“It will be fun. I haven’t seen much of him in the Swedish league, but it will be fun to start and see how he goes,” Ayari said. “I will take care of him, but many people will take care of him. It’s a family club, so it should go well.”

Liverpool will note both the maturity and the composure. A young midfielder shutting out transfer speculation to concentrate on a World Cup is exactly the profile many elite clubs crave.

For now, though, the real flashpoint sits elsewhere. Inter’s clock is ticking on Curtis Jones, Liverpool are standing their ground, and a summer already defined by exits at Anfield is about to face its next big decision.