As reported by Paul Joyce on Sunday, Liverpool have rejected a second offer from Inter Milan for Curtis Jones.
Fabrizio Romano claimed earlier this month that the Serie A champions are ‘very interested’ in the midfielder, who’s said to be ‘keen on the move’, and the Nerazzurri had unsuccessfully sought to sign him on loan in January.
However, as per Anantaajith Raghuraman for The Athletic, the Reds don’t want to lose the 25-year-old (who’s valued at £35m) and would only sanction a sale if they receive a ‘suitable offer’ and the player pushes for an exit.
On Sunday evening, Joyce reported for The Times that Inter have failed with a second bid for Jones, with their £21m offer falling well short of Liverpool’s valuation.
Anfield chiefs are said to be ‘increasingly irritated’ by the Nerazzurri’s long-running purusit of the midfielder and the ‘low-ball nature of their informal bids’, with FSG not considering the San Siro giants as ‘serious contenders’ for his signature.
Sporting director Richard Hughes is reportedly ‘unimpressed’ by the approaches from Milan, shutting down talks when discovering that they’re unwilling to go above €25m (£21.7m), and any further correspondence would seem ‘futile’ unless Inter come back with a drastically improved offer.
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Liverpool are quite right to feel insulted by the Serie A champions’ miserable bid for Jones, whose £35m valuation still seems low when compared with Premier League positional peers and players at a similar contractual juncture (one year left on his current deal).
For context, Nottingham Forest want at least £100m for Elliot Anderson (23), West Ham are demanding £80m for Mateus Fernandes (21), and Newcastle rejected a £75m offer from Tottenham Hotspur for Sandro Tonali (26).
Meanwhile, Spurs have just signed Jan-Paul van Hecke (26) from Brighton for £52m when he was about to enter the final 12 months of his contract with the Seagulls.
Therefore, for Inter to have the audacity to bid just £21m for Jones – an England international and Premier League winner – is a bit of an insult to him and to Liverpool, who should tell the San Siro hierarchy to stop trying to take them for fools.
The Reds have already lost three senior players since the end of last season without recouping a penny in transfer fees (Mo Salah, Andy Robertson, Ibrahima Konate), and it’d compound the agony to sell the one remaining Scouser in our first team for far less than his market value.
It’s not implausible that we could lose him on a free transfer next year if there isn’t a resolution on contract negotiations, but here’s hoping that a new deal can be agreed with him at Anfield and that Inter will finally cease and desist until they’re prepared to take us seriously.
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NO MORE THAN 25 MIL!!! F*** THE PL TAX!!!!
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