Liverpool have made a big decision when it comes to their summer transfer window plans as Andoni Iraola looks to fund a revamp of the Premier League titans
Liverpool have made a key decision as they look to ignite their summer transfer window plans.
The Premier League titans have quietly reduced their asking price for homegrown England midfielder Curtis Jones, following extended talks with Italian outfit Inter Milan. The 25-year-old Scouser’s potential switch to Serie A has been on the cards for months – and it seems a resolution has finally been reached. It was back in June when Liverpool turned down a second offer from Inter valued at £21.7million for the England international.
The Reds had become exasperated with their pursuit of the midfielder, whom they had priced at £35m, despite him entering the final 12 months of his deal. Nevertheless, the mounting pressure to move players on in the closing phases of the transfer window is starting to have an impact at Anfield, reports the Mirror. That means a player who made 49 appearances last season – despite struggling to establish himself as a regular starter – and who has won the Premier League, FA Cup and League Cup with his boyhood club, could soon be let go.
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Jones is among several players who are in their final year of their contracts at Liverpool, who have thus far failed to generate sales this summer.
Ibrahima Konate, Andy Robertson and Mohamed Salah all departed for nothing, while remarkably, Luca Stephenson, a 22-year-old fringe midfielder, remains the sole player to bring in a transfer fee, having joined Bolton for £700,000.
With merely 17 days remaining in the transfer window, and eight days until the campaign begins for Andoni Iraola’s team, they’ve been compelled to find a middle ground.
Corriere dello Sport report Liverpool’s €40m (£34m) assessment has eased for Jones, who has already finalised personal terms and will become Inter’s third English acquisition this summer, after John Stones and Djed Spence.
He will depart for nearer to €35m (£30m), generating crucial revenue for the club. Stefan Bajcetic and Calvin Ramsay are also entering the final year of their deals at Liverpool and could likewise be offloaded in the forthcoming weeks.
Joe Gomez, Wataru Endo, Kostas Tsimikas, Virgil van Dijk and Alisson Becker find themselves in the same position, although Iraola wishes to retain them, creating the prospect of losing them for nothing next summer. It’s a clear problem for the club to address, as they simultaneously attempt to bring in quality before the deadline.
Ronald Araujo has followed Victor Munoz in joining the Reds this summer, but the acquisition of a world-class attacker remains unresolved amid stalled talks with Paris Saint-Germain for Bradley Barcola.
“There are obvious situations that we know where we need to sign players,” Iraola said last month. “A winger, for example – we definitely need to sign a winger.
“But there are other situations that we will have to analyse what the market gives you, what’s the cost, how we also see the players we have. We have some tricky positions where we have injured players that we trust but is still not the ideal situation. So, it will depend on a lot of things.”