Liverpool in 2025-26 will look almost entirely unrecognizable to fans, with Jürgen Klopp era stars Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson certain to depart while the transfer chatter grows ever louder around goalkeeper Alisson Becker, and they could yet be joined on their way out by a few long-serving Reds.
Curtis Jones appears increasingly likely to also depart, and with the player linked with a move to Serie A side Inter Milan in January it’s hardly surprising that’s the potential destination being talked
up again now for the Liverpool-born midfielder who will be heading into the final year of his contract this summer.
And according to club-connected David Lynch, any chance of Jones sticking around appears increasingly slim given contract talks between the club and player “have effectively ceased” in recent months with the player widely reported to be unhappy about the size of his role in head coach Arne Slot’s struggling side.
Jones has made 46 total appearances for the Reds this season, with those appearances adding up to 2,580 minutes—or around 56 minutes per appearance. While perhaps not the numbers of a nailed-on first choice starter, it’s hard to look at those numbers and see anything but a player given a significant role.
However, it’s possible Jones hasn’t appreciated being deployed as something of a spare part, often filling in all over the pitch as needed rather than being given significant minutes in a consistent role. Still, the reality is that Jones has been deployed as far more than an emergency squad option over the past season.
Some will argue that on form he deserves to be ahead of the struggling Alexis Mac Allister in Slot’s pecking order, but Mac Allister’s 52 total appearances for 3,615 minutes—or around 69 minutes per appearance—aren’t the gulf some are framing it as now that Jones appears to be inevitably inching towards a Liverpool exit.
Still, if Jones doesn’t feel as though Slot has a clearly defined role in mind for him and given the larger struggles of the side to find a coherent identity this season even as we head into the final weeks of it, it’s perhaps not that difficult to imagine why the player might see a change of scenery as best for his career.
