Liverpool are on the verge of selling academy graduate Curtis Jones to Serie A champions Inter, a move that has left many questions unanswered about the club's squad planning and local identity.
Jones, who joined Liverpool at age nine and made his senior debut in 2019 against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the FA Cup, has made 228 appearances for the Reds, scoring 22 goals and winning two Premier League titles, an FA Cup, and two League Cups.
However, the 25-year-old midfielder has struggled in the last 12 months and has not agreed a new contract, entering the final year of his current deal. Inter are poised to end his time at Anfield for a reported £30m.
Mixed Feelings on the Deal
Paul Gorst, Liverpool FC correspondent for the ECHO, noted that after seeing Mohamed Salah, Andy Robertson, and Ibrahima Konate leave for free earlier this summer, selling Jones avoids another free transfer. He described the £30m fee as "relatively modest" but questioned the wisdom of letting Jones go without a senior replacement.
"At this stage, Liverpool appear to have no real plans to replace Jones and are pressing ahead with their plans for Bradley Barcola and potentially another wide player before the September 1 deadline," Gorst wrote. He added that while Trey Nyoni could get an opportunity, talk of the teenager being "like a new signing" would "only understandably rile up supporters."
Gorst concluded: "At a certain point - one we are far beyond now - Liverpool must stop allowing players to leave without seemingly any apparent plan to redress the balance with incomings. It's all pointing towards Liverpool, and sporting director Richard Hughes in particular, being busier than they would like in the final days of the transfer window."
Loss of Local Representation
Richard Garnett, Central Audience Sport Content Editor, said he was not surprised by the departure but had mixed feelings. He credited Jones for making the jump from academy to senior level and noted that at 25, he leaves with a medal haul "that plenty of higher-profile Liverpool stars didn't come even close to achieving."
However, Garnett pointed out that Jones never cemented a regular starting spot under two managers. "He can be forgiven for getting the hump over that, particularly considering how poor Liverpool were last season, but on balance, I've never felt that he was quite at the level to be an automatic starter, so find myself siding with the team selectors in that respect," he wrote.
Garnett highlighted a broader concern: "Where it does leave the Reds, however, is with no true senior Merseyside players in the team whatsoever. In the modern football world, many will not place much weight on that fact, but I see it differently."
He argued that local representation is important for a club based in a particular city for over 100 years. Following the departure of Trent Alexander-Arnold last season, Jones' exit leaves "an important vacuum to be filled."
"Best of luck to him in the magnificent San Siro, but hopefully a new Scouse heartbeat will emerge sooner rather than later," Garnett added.
