Curtis Jones Nears Inter Switch as Liverpool Faces Midfield Gamble

Curtis Jones has lived this moment in his head for years. The walk out of the academy, the goodbye to Kirkby, the final drive down Melwood Way in red. Now it is almost here, and Liverpool are bracing for the day the last Scouser in their squad leaves.

That day could be today.

Fabrizio Romano has already dropped his trademark “here we go” on X, with Italian outlets lining up behind him. Inter are understood to have agreed an initial €30m fee for the 25-year-old, with a further €4m–€5m in add-ons – roughly £30m plus up to £4.3m. Jones has committed to the Italian champions. A medical is being planned.

Gianluca Di Marzio detailed the structure: €30m up front, €4m–€5m in bonuses. La Gazzetta dello Sport mirror that figure and go a step further, suggesting an official announcement is expected “in the next few hours”.

Closer to home, the ECHO and James Pearce at The Athletic both report that a deal is now in sight, though not yet fully signed off. The direction of travel is clear. Barring a late twist, Curtis Jones will be leaving Liverpool.

The end of an era – and a big bet in midfield

For a player who never quite nailed down a permanent starting spot, Jones’ departure has hit a nerve. It speaks to two things: Liverpool’s thin cover in several areas of the pitch, and the symbolism of a Toxteth-born midfielder who joined the club at nine and grew up under the lights of Anfield.

Jones arrived on the fringes of Jurgen Klopp’s first great side as a teenager and was treated like a rare thing – a local academy talent who looked capable of living at that level. The coaching staff reined in his street‑football instincts, turned a free‑wheeling No.10/winger into a press‑resistant No.8, and asked him to graft.

He never quite became the star many imagined. But he became something else: useful, adaptable, trusted. Last season under Arne Slot he covered three midfield roles and even operated as an auxiliary right-back. When injuries mounted, he was the one who moved.

Now Liverpool must decide how, or if, they replace him.

The early signs are stark. Journalist David Lynch has said, via Anfield Index, there is “close to zero chance” of Liverpool signing a direct replacement this window. Instead, 19-year-old Trey Nyoni is set to step into the role of fourth-choice central midfielder.

There is cover of sorts. Wataru Endo brings a more defensive profile. James McConnell’s proposed loan to Preston North End is on hold, which may not be a coincidence as Liverpool weigh up keeping the 21-year-old as another homegrown body. Stefan Bajcetic remains on a separate training programme after his injury issues and has drawn interest from Getafe, so he is unlikely to be thrown straight into the mix.

At the back, the club are leaning heavily on versatility. New loanee Ronald Araujo played six times at right-back for Barcelona last season and is rated as a strong one-v-one defender out wide. Jeremy Jacquet and Joe Gomez can both slide across to protect Jeremie Frimpong while Conor Bradley is out. Calvin Ramsay is still around despite talk of a loan.

Put bluntly, Liverpool believe they can absorb Jones’ exit without buying another midfielder. That stance is shaped not only by faith in youth and flexibility, but by the homegrown puzzle. Losing a locally trained player and replacing him with a non-homegrown signing would further complicate an already tight Champions League registration picture, where several non-homegrown players may have to miss out to satisfy UEFA rules.

Names like Adam Wharton have been floated from the outside. The Crystal Palace midfielder briefly lit up social media after he successfully bid for a signed Steven Gerrard Istanbul 2005 shirt on eBay, prompting jokes and speculation about a “sign” of a Liverpool move. Inside the club, though, players of that profile and price point do not appear to have moved the needle for Andoni Iraola.

That leaves Liverpool with a clear risk. Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch carried heavy loads last season. Nyoni is raw. Endo is 31. If Jones goes and no one comes in, the margin for error shrinks again.

Vinny O’Connor of Sky Sports offered a sliver of optimism for those alarmed by that prospect, suggesting “you would expect a replacement to be brought in” if Jones departs. Right now, though, the market is thin at the kind of fee Liverpool are prepared to pay. The danger of emerging from the window weaker in a key area is real.

Quansah escape route stays open – for now

If Liverpool want a recent example of what that danger looks like, they only need to revisit the Marc Guehi saga.

After winning their 20th league title, Liverpool identified the England defender, agreed a fee with Crystal Palace, then watched the deal collapse on deadline day when Steve Parish changed his stance while Guehi was undergoing a medical. Six months later, Manchester City picked him up for less than Liverpool had on the table.

The fallout was brutal. Liverpool had already sanctioned Jarell Quansah’s sale to Bayer Leverkusen, losing one of the Premier League’s most promising young centre-backs for a fee that now looks like a steal. They failed to land Guehi and ended up walking a tightrope for most of the season with just two senior centre-halves, both frequently out of form and fitness.

The Quansah deal was baffling in another way. Liverpool negotiated a buy-back clause and even pre-agreed a contract for his potential return, valid this summer or next. It was a clear acknowledgement that he might be needed again. How that squared with the fee received and the immediate hit to squad depth raised serious questions inside and outside the club.

Quansah’s form in Germany has only sharpened that scrutiny. His buy-back clause is believed to drop in value next year, but Liverpool did not move this summer, even after recruiting Jacquet, welcoming Giovanni Leoni back from injury and bringing in Araujo on loan.

Then came the scare. Last week, Sky Sports and The Athletic both reported Arsenal were in talks over Quansah, a year after he left Anfield. The idea of him rocking up at a direct rival, with Liverpool watching from afar, bordered on nightmare fuel for some at the club.

The tension has eased. Sky Sports now say Arsenal are in advanced talks for Ezri Konsa instead. The Aston Villa defender, who prefers the right side and can also cover at right-back, had been on their radar for weeks. It is entirely possible that the public noise around Quansah was part of a negotiation game to soften Villa’s stance on a £60m valuation.

Whatever the strategy, the immediate threat of Quansah joining a Premier League rival appears to have receded. That keeps the door ajar for Liverpool. The Warrington-born defender remains under their gaze, his buy-back still active, his story with the club not quite closed.

Aranda on the radar as Liverpool push deeper into South America

While the senior squad wrestles with exits and buy-backs, Liverpool’s recruitment department continues to look further upstream.

After securing a deal for Colombian attacking midfielder Samuel Martinez earlier in the summer – he will arrive in a year’s time – the club have been linked with another young South American talent: Tomas Aranda of Boca Juniors.

According to El Crack Deportivo, Liverpool are among a cluster of clubs “courting” the 19-year-old, who operates as an attacking midfielder and off the left. Aranda has a $20m (£14.7m) release clause. His raw numbers this season – one goal and three assists from 19 games – are modest, but Boca president Juan Roman Riquelme, a legend in that position, has called him a “great gem” and is said to be fiercely resistant to losing him.

The reality of modern football economics is different. El Intransigente report that a bid close to the release clause could force Boca into a difficult decision. Chelsea are given top billing in the chase, with Liverpool, Inter, Arsenal, Bayer Leverkusen, the City Football Group, Parma, Como, Corinthians and Sao Paulo all credited with varying degrees of interest.

For Liverpool, the profile fits a clear pattern. They have increasingly tried to bypass “stepping‑stone” clubs by moving directly for high-upside teenagers: Martinez, Mor Talla Ndiaye, Ifeanyi Ndukwe, Rio Ngumoha, Nyoni. Aranda, and Tijuana’s 17-year-old playmaker Gilberto Mora – another player linked after impressing at the Under-17 World Cup for Mexico – fall neatly into that strategy.

Whether any of these moves materialise this window is another question. The direction of travel is unmistakable.

Ndukwe’s next step, Spurs eye Gakpo and Nunez on the move again

Below the first-team radar, Ifeanyi Ndukwe is close to a significant step in his own journey. Multiple reports say the young defender is set to join Levante on a season-long loan. The move is not yet done, but Paul Gorst reports the Spanish side are “at the front of the queue”.

For Liverpool, the destination matters. Levante play in a Band 1 domestic league under post-Brexit rules, which means Ndukwe can accumulate the points he needs more quickly to qualify for a UK work permit. For the player, it is a chance to build on an eye-catching pre-season in which he impressed at centre-back.

At the other end of the scale, Tottenham Hotspur are plotting a late attacking spree. Sky Sports report Spurs want three forwards before the window shuts, with Cody Gakpo among their main targets. They are also pushing for Savinho on the opposite flank and a centre-forward, with Omar Marmoush on their list. Pedro Neto is viewed as an alternative if a Gakpo deal proves impossible.

Spurs are said to be waiting to see whether Liverpool complete a move for Bradley Barcola and potentially his Paris Saint-Germain team-mate Ibrahim Mbaye before testing the Reds’ resolve on Gakpo and Savinho. If Liverpool buy, Spurs will pounce. If Liverpool stand still, the London club may have to pivot.

Elsewhere in Saudi Arabia, Darwin Nunez is on the move again. Frozen out at Al Hilal, the forward is set to join Al Diriyah on loan. A proposed switch to Trabzonspor, where he would have joined Mohamed Salah, collapsed, so Nunez will remain in the Pro League for at least another year. Belgian journalist Sacha Tavolieri has outlined the deal, with Al Diriyah understood to be covering 75% of his wages – a key factor in getting it over the line.

Endrick rumour unravels

One final story has done the rounds that, on paper, actually made some sense: Endrick to Liverpool.

The logic is straightforward. Liverpool need more options on the right wing and through the middle. Endrick can play both roles, already has elite experience and enormous upside. On the surface, it fits.

Scratch that surface and the whole thing falls apart.

The trail begins at Madrid Universal, a Real Madrid fan site that aggregates stories about the club’s players and targets. They cite Mundo Deportivo, who claim Endrick has slipped down the pecking order at Madrid following the arrivals of Yan Diomande and Carlos Espi, and that Liverpool have registered interest in a €65m (£55.7m) permanent deal or a loan.

Mundo Deportivo, in turn, point to “the English press, specifically Livescore”. Livescore’s article is a rehash of a piece from Anfield Watch, which itself leans on an unsourced report from Spanish outlet Fichajes – a regular in any “nonsense rumours” column.

Fichajes go even further, stating that “Jose Mourinho is counting on the player for the upcoming 2026-27 season, although his future will depend on the attacker's own decision.” That jars with what The Athletic reported last week: that Endrick has already decided to stay and “fight for his place” in Madrid, a stance agreed by “the player, the club and head coach”.

To their credit, Fichajes acknowledge that Endrick has maintained his intention to compete for minutes and that Mourinho and the sporting hierarchy had opted to keep him in the squad. What they never do is explain what has changed to justify a story about a move to Liverpool.

Because nothing has changed.

It is a perfect snapshot of the modern rumour mill: a loop of recycled reports, each leaning on the other, none grounded in a new decision or development. For Liverpool, the real transfer questions are closer to home – Jones, Quansah, Nyoni, the balance of a midfield that could yet define their season.