With just a season left to run in Curtis Jones’ Liverpool deal and the player resisting efforts to tie him down to a new contract over the past two years, we headed into the summer transfer window with most expecting that the 25-year-old Scouse midfielder had played his final game in Red.
However, with Jones preferred destination being Inter Milan and the Italians barely able to get to half of Liverpool’s valuation as the Reds sought £35M and the Serie A side first bid £19M before searching under the cushions to get up to £21M, that move appeared to be fully off the table.
Following Inter’s exit there has been chatter of potential Nottingham Forest or Aston Villa interest. With English clubs now involved, Liverpool are also believed to have upped their asking price to £40M. This time, though, it could well be Jones himself who stops any deal going through.
As least according to The Echo, Jones himself isn’t keen on a move to another English club to begin with, and Forest are said to be particularly unappealing due to the often messy managerial situation that has existed under the meddlesome and controversial ownership of Evangelos Marinakis.
The recent announcement of ex-Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner as their new manager does signal that maybe Forest are getting serious, though. Yet even then it would be an odd move for Jones—who played 49 games and 2,900 minutes last season—to leave the Reds for another English side.
