Liverpool are expected to take a hardline stance on the future of Curtis Jones as the midfielder approaches a major career crossroads.
The 25-year-old is now into the final 12 months of his current contract at Anfield and have already rejected two offers from Inter Milan, the second of which amounted to a paltry £21m (The Times).
Fabrizio Romano claimed in June that the England international would be keen on a potential move to the Serie A champions and was even alleged to have sounded out Federico Chiesa about life in Italy.
In an article for the Liverpool Echo, Paul Gorst assessed the situations of all 11 LFC players with a year remaining on their contracts, starting with the Reds’ number 17.
The journalist wrote: ‘Curtis Jones faces an uncertain future as he continues into the final year of his deal. The midfielder had been wanted by Italian giants Inter but their offer fell shy of £22m last month when the Reds had been looking for closer to £35m.
‘Liverpool would prefer to keep Jones and re-open talks with his representatives but no discussions are currently lined up and it remains to be seen if new coach Andoni Iraola can offer the sort of game-time that might force a rethink inside the player’s camp.
‘Nottingham Forest have been linked with Jones after their £116m windfall for selling Elliot Anderson to Manchester City. Liverpool won’t be willing to conclude a deal with Forest on the cheap, however, given the injection of capital that came from the enormous fee for Anderson.’
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Although Jones’ contract situation weakens Liverpool’s hand if they’re unable to agree a new contract for him, they’d surely be justified in seeking a fee which amounts to more than 33% of what Man City have paid for Anderson.
With Forest handsomely reimbursed from that transfer, Anfield chiefs know that the City Ground outfit are sitting on a new-found fortune, and therefore it’d be naive in the extreme to sell the 25-year-old for less than what they deem him to be worth.
The worry is that, if LFC hold out to try and broker a new deal for him but are unable to strike an agreement, they could see another valuable asset in his mid-20s leave on a free next year, just like they did with Ibrahima Konate recently.
The first few weeks of the season should give us a fair idea of how highly Iraola rates Jones, something which’d become apparent by how much game-time is handed to the midfielder.
The player is well within his rights to make whatever decision would be best for his career, but from a Liverpool perspective, hopefully he and the club can reach an agreement on a new contract to keep him with his boyhood team for another few years at least.
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