The Curtis Jones move to Inter Milan looks all but done. The Serie A champions have agreed a fee of around £30m (roughly A$57 million) with Liverpool, and the deal was locked in late on Wednesday night. Jones has been given permission to travel for a medical.

For a lad who first walked into Liverpool’s academy at nine years old, this one hits differently. It’s a 16-year association with the only senior club he has ever known - and it’s about to end. Quietly, one of the club’s longest academy-to-first-team stories closes off.

The timing is a bit awkward too. New head coach Andoni Iraola is still shaping his squad, and losing a homegrown midfielder just as the season kicks off does raise some real questions: not about the starting eleven, but about depth.

The Fee and the Medical

The reported number is £30m, or about €35m. Either way, at current rates you’re looking at roughly A$57 million. Once the two clubs settled on terms, Liverpool gave Jones the green light to fly out for a medical, which is the usual last step before a transfer is formally over the line.

At 25, Jones becomes the third England international to head to Inter this window, following John Stones and Djed Spence. That’s a fairly obvious English flavour running through Inter’s recruitment right now, though the club hasn’t spelled out any grand strategy publicly. Make of that what you will.

Reports suggest things moved quickly once negotiations opened, which fits a deal both sides seemed happy to push through before the window closes. Nothing about the timing seems to have caught Liverpool off guard.

Why Jones Left Liverpool After 16 Years

Jones made his first-team debut in the 2018-19 season and went on to play 228 times for the club, scoring 22 goals. That’s a decent body of work for a player who spent most of his career fighting for minutes rather than owning a fixed role.

His trophy haul is the sort most players never get near. Two Premier League titles. Two League Cups. An FA Cup. A Club World Cup. He was also part of the side that finished as Champions League runners-up in 2022.

Even so, regular starts stayed just out of reach. Jones has become a regular in England squads over the last couple of years, but never quite nailed down a settled first-team place at Liverpool.

As The Guardian pointed out in the UK, he cut a frustrated figure at times last season under Arne Slot - at one point being shoved out to right-back as a makeshift option. Not exactly the role a No.17 dreams about.

As Sky Sports’ Rich Morgan noted, Jones featured heavily under Slot last term across all competitions, though a big chunk of those appearances came in a disappointing 2025-26 title defence that ultimately cost Slot his job. 

His exit now leaves Iraola weighing up how his midfield actually looks once the new campaign gets going.

How Iraola Reshapes the Midfield Next

Iraola is expected to build his side around Florian Wirtz, most likely as a No.10 in a 4-2-3-1. That leaves Dominik Szoboszlai, Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch competing for the two deeper spots.

Wataru Endo is around for experienced cover, and young Trey Nyoni impressed enough in pre-season to have some fans quietly hopeful.

The real question now is money and timing. With more than 10 days left in the window, the temptation to reinvest that £30m (about A$57 million) in a midfield replacement is obvious. 

And one report has already warned Liverpool will cop plenty of criticism if the sale isn’t followed by a fresh signing. We’ll see.