Curtis Jones Nears Inter Move as Liverpool Faces Midfield Gamble

Curtis Jones has lived with labels his entire Liverpool career. Local lad. Nearly man. System player. Luxury. Workhorse. Take your pick. What’s harder to pin down is the feeling around Anfield this week: a knot in the stomach that has nothing to do with sentiment alone.

Because this time, it really does look like goodbye.

Jones on the brink

By Monday lunchtime, Fabrizio Romano had delivered his trademark “here we go” on X, and the dominoes began to fall. In Italy, the line was consistent: Inter have an agreement in place with Liverpool for Jones, built around a €30m initial fee and a further €4-5m in add-ons – roughly £30m plus £3.4m to £4.3m.

Gianluca Di Marzio detailed the structure, La Gazzetta dello Sport spoke of €30m plus €5m and even suggested an “official announcement is expected in the next few hours.” A medical, Romano said, is already being planned.

On Merseyside, the tone is more cautious. The ECHO and James Pearce at The Athletic both stress that while a deal is “within sight”, the final agreement is not yet signed off. But the direction of travel is obvious. Barring a late twist, the last Scouser in the senior squad is heading for Serie A at 25.

Jones’ Liverpool story has never been straightforward. He arrived in the first team as the swaggering academy talent on the fringes of Jürgen Klopp’s first great side, a maverick No.10/winger with a highlight-reel right foot. Klopp then reshaped him into a press-resistant No.8, more metronome than magician, ironing out the excess to fit the machine.

He never became the star many imagined. Yet he became something just as valuable: indispensable glue. Jones covered three midfield roles, fought his way back from every setback, and in Arne Slot’s final season even served as a dependable auxiliary right-back.

If this is the end, it comes at a time when Liverpool’s depth in exactly those areas looks fragile.

A risky bet in midfield

The looming question is obvious: who replaces Jones?

Right now, the answer from inside Liverpool appears to be: nobody.

Journalist David Lynch, speaking via Anfield Index, has been clear that based on his information there is “close to zero chance” of Liverpool signing a direct replacement. Instead, 19-year-old Trey Nyoni is expected to step up as fourth-choice central midfielder.

That is a bold call in a season that will stretch every inch of the squad.

Wataru Endo remains the more defensive option. James McConnell’s proposed loan to Preston North End has been put “on hold”, a decision that suddenly looks less like a minor administrative delay and more like a strategic pause. Keep him as another homegrown body, and the numbers look a little less thin.

Stefan Bajcetic, meanwhile, has trained on a separate programme throughout pre-season and is attracting interest from Getafe. He is unlikely to be part of the early-season solution.

Liverpool will argue that cover exists in other lines. New loanee Ronald Araujo, who played six times at right-back for Barcelona last season, can defend one-v-one in wide areas. Jeremy Jacquet and Joe Gomez can both shuffle across if needed. Jeremie Frimpong’s workload can be shared in Conor Bradley’s absence, while Calvin Ramsay is still at the club despite talk of a loan.

It all points to a club convinced it can ride this out without dipping back into the market – and to a homegrown puzzle that is proving hard to solve. With UEFA rules forcing Liverpool to consider leaving multiple non-homegrown players out of their Champions League squad, losing Jones and then replacing him with another non-homegrown signing would tighten the squeeze.

Targets such as Adam Wharton, the England midfielder whose purchase of a signed Steven Gerrard Istanbul 2005 shirt on eBay briefly reignited speculation, are either too expensive or not the right tactical fit for Andoni Iraola.

The logic is clear. The risk is, too.

Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch carried a heavy load last season. Nyoni is talented but raw. One injury run and Liverpool could find themselves staring at a familiar problem in the heart of the pitch.

Vinny O’Connor of Sky Sports has suggested that “you would expect a replacement to be brought in” if Jones goes. That expectation, at this stage, is not matched by concrete names at a price Liverpool are willing to pay. The window is ticking down. The squad, on paper, is in danger of being a little lighter where it can least afford to be.

Quansah, Guehi and a near-miss

If Liverpool need a cautionary tale about squad management, they don’t have to look far. The Marc Guehi saga still stings.

Liverpool thought they had their man last summer, agreeing a deal with Crystal Palace before Steve Parish pulled a late U-turn on deadline day while Guehi was undergoing his medical. By January, the England international had joined Manchester City for a lower fee than Liverpool had initially put on the table. Wage demands by then were beyond what the Reds were prepared to pay.

The real misstep, though, came earlier: allowing Jarell Quansah to leave for Bayer Leverkusen while the Guehi deal was still far from secure. In doing so, Liverpool waved goodbye to one of the Premier League’s most promising young centre-backs for a fee that already looks like a steal – and then failed to replace him, spending much of the season juggling just two senior, often out-of-form, centre-halves.

The deal always carried a strange contradiction. Liverpool inserted a buy-back clause for this summer or next, effectively pre-negotiating a possible return. It raised an awkward question: how much financial sense does it make to sell a player you already suspect you might need to re-sign?

Quansah has since thrived in Germany. His buy-back fee is believed to drop next year, which might explain Liverpool’s patience. But that strategy was tested last week when Sky Sports and The Athletic both reported Arsenal were in talks to sign the 23-year-old, just a year after he left Anfield.

That would have been a nightmare scenario: Liverpool weakening themselves, watching Quansah develop abroad, then seeing him land at a direct Premier League rival.

For now, it appears they’ve dodged it. Sky Sports now report Arsenal are “in advanced talks” for Ezri Konsa. The Aston Villa defender, like Quansah, is right-sided and can cover at right-back. Arsenal have been tracking Konsa for weeks, and their public interest in Quansah may well have been leverage in negotiations with Villa, who have been holding firm around a £60m valuation.

Whether it was a bluff or a genuine pursuit, the immediate danger has receded. Quansah will not be lining up for Mikel Arteta this season. The door, just about, remains open for a Liverpool return in a future window.

Liverpool circle Boca gem Aranda

While the first-team squad edges towards a leaner profile, Liverpool’s recruitment department continues to cast its net deep into South America.

Earlier in the summer, the club secured an agreement for Colombian attacking midfielder Samuel Martinez, who will only join up with the squad in a year’s time. Now, another name has emerged.

El Crack Deportivo report that Liverpool are among a cluster of clubs “courting the services of” Tomás Aranda, the 19-year-old Boca Juniors attacking midfielder and left winger. His numbers this season are modest – one goal and three assists from 19 games – but inside Boca he is rated far higher than the raw statistics suggest.

Club president Juan Román Riquelme, who knows a thing or two about the position, has described Aranda as a “great gem” and, according to the report, “doesn’t want to know” about losing him. The problem for Boca is his contract: Aranda has a $20m (£14.7m) release clause.

Chelsea’s interest is highlighted both by El Crack Deportivo and El Intransigente, with the London club given top billing in the chase. Liverpool, though, are also said to be following Aranda “closely”, alongside Inter, Arsenal, Bayer Leverkusen, the City Group, Parma, Como and Brazilian sides Corinthians and São Paulo.

Boca’s stance is clear: they don’t want to sell. But El Intransigente note that “a bid close to the [release] clause could force the club to make a difficult decision.”

This is exactly the kind of market Liverpool have leaned into recently. By targeting players earlier in their development – Martinez, Mor Talla Ndiaye, Ifeanyi Ndukwe, Rio Ngumoha, Nyoni – they avoid paying a premium to “middleman” clubs in Europe once those talents explode.

A similar pattern is emerging with Gilberto Mora, the 17-year-old Tijuana playmaker who impressed for Mexico at the World Cup and has also been linked with the Reds. The senior squad might not be getting a Jones replacement, but the pipeline beneath it is being stocked aggressively.

Ndukwe loan, Gakpo noise and Nunez on the move

Below the first team, Ifeanyi Ndukwe is set for a significant step in his own development. Multiple outlets report the defender is close to joining Levante on a season-long loan. The move is not yet confirmed, but Paul Gorst notes the Spanish club are “understood to be at the front of the queue as things stand.”

For Liverpool, the logic is practical as well as footballing. Playing in a Band 1 domestic league helps Ndukwe accumulate the points required for a UK work permit under post-Brexit rules, after the Austria Vienna academy graduate impressed at centre-back during pre-season.

Higher up the food chain, Tottenham Hotspur’s late-window plans have dragged a Liverpool forward into the rumour swirl. Sky Sports say Spurs want to bring in three attackers before the deadline, with Cody Gakpo among their primary targets.

Alongside Gakpo, Savinho is a leading option for the opposite flank, while a centre-forward – Omar Marmoush is on their list – would complete the attacking refresh. Pedro Neto is viewed as an alternative if Spurs cannot land Gakpo. The north London club are said to be “waiting for Liverpool to sign Bradley Barcola and – potentially – his Paris Saint-Germain team-mate Ibrahim Mbaye before they bid for Gakpo on top of Savinho.”

It is a complex chain of hypotheticals, and at this stage remains just that. But it underlines how quickly Liverpool’s attacking picture could change if one major piece moves.

Elsewhere, Darwin Nunez is on the brink of yet another reset. The forward is set for a loan switch from Al Hilal to Al Diriyah after being frozen out at last season’s Saudi Pro League runners-up. He had been expected to join Mohamed Salah at Trabzonspor, but that deal collapsed. Sacha Tavolieri reports that Al Diriyah’s willingness to cover 75% of Nunez’s wages has proved decisive, keeping him in Saudi Arabia for at least another year.

Endrick rumour unravels

One name that would electrify Liverpool’s forward line is Endrick. On paper, the Real Madrid youngster fits the brief perfectly: can play right wing and through the middle, already has top-level experience, and carries enormous upside.

So when stories began to surface linking Liverpool with either a €65m (£55.7m) permanent move or a loan for the Brazilian, the idea caught fire quickly.

Scratch the surface, though, and the whole thing falls apart.

The trail runs from Madrid Universal – a Real Madrid fan site – to Mundo Deportivo, who in turn cite Livescore. Livescore’s piece is actually a republished article from Anfield Watch, which itself leans on a typically unsourced claim from Spanish outlet Fichajes.

The narrative is familiar: Endrick is struggling for minutes amid fierce competition at Madrid, Liverpool want him to replace Salah, and a deal is on the table. Fichajes even throw José Mourinho into the mix, claiming he is counting on the player for the 2026-27 season but that Endrick’s future “will depend on the attacker’s own decision.”

The problem is that decision has already been made public. As reported by The Athletic and Mario Cortegana last week, Endrick, Madrid and the head coach agreed he would stay and “fight for his place” at the Bernabéu.

Fichajes acknowledge this, noting that Endrick has maintained his intention to compete for minutes and that “just a few days ago, the situation pointed to him staying.” What they do not provide is any explanation of what has changed since then to justify a Liverpool story.

Because nothing has. Which leaves this particular rumour as exactly what it is: noise built on recycled speculation and wishful thinking.

Liverpool have real decisions to make in the next fortnight – on Jones, on midfield risk, on future buy-backs and emerging talent. Endrick, for now, is not one of them.

The real question is sharper: when the window closes, will this squad look like one ready to chase everything again, or one move short in the areas that matter most?