Curtis Jones Absent as Liverpool Faces Como in Pre-Season Friendly

Curtis Jones was nowhere to be seen as Liverpool named their squad for the second friendly of the day against Como, a fresh twist in a pre-season quietly dominated by questions over his future.

Earlier on Sunday, the same sides had gone head-to-head behind closed doors at the AXA Training Centre, grinding out a goalless draw. This time the stands have people in them, the tempo is higher, the atmosphere sharper. But Jones will not kick a ball.

Liverpool have confirmed, via Tuttomercatoweb, that the England international is set to complete individual work instead of featuring in the matchday group. Officially, this follows a minor hip problem that already kept him out of last week’s friendly against Monaco.

The timing, though, is impossible to ignore. Inter’s interest in the 25-year-old has been widely reported, and his continued absence drops straight into the middle of the late-summer transfer noise. There is no indication from Liverpool that the decision is linked to any move, yet every missed minute in pre-season only turns the volume up.

Inter are understood to be monitoring midfield options, with Jones among the profiles tracked. For a player at an age where he needs games and a club juggling its own squad evolution, these small pre-season decisions start to feel bigger than they look on paper.

While Jones works alone, the show goes on without him.

Fabregas rolls the dice, Jones sits it out

On the opposite bench, Cesc Fabregas has used the second meeting of the day to take a closer look at his own squad. The Como boss has handed Trevoh Chalobah a starting role, a notable call in a side that also includes J. Rodriguez, Baturina and Da Cunha from the off.

Nico Paz, Maxence Caqueret and Alvaro Morata have been kept in reserve, named among a deep list of substitutes as Fabregas tests combinations and match fitness.

For Liverpool, Andoni Iraola has gone strong with his XI, even as the Jones subplot rumbles in the background.

Official lineups

Liverpool:
Alisson; Van Dijk, Jacquet, Kerkez, Wirtz, Szoboszlai, Isak, Gakpo, Frimpong, Gravenberch, Ngumoha.
Substitutes: Davies, Munoz, Araujo, Nyoni, Koumas, Ndiaye, Wright.
Coach: Iraola

Como:
Butez; Bruno, Milla, Douvikas, Ramon, Couto, J. Rodriguez, Baturina, Chalobah, Liberali, Da Cunha.
Substitutes: Kempf, Valle, Goldaniga, Morata, Caqueret, Gabrielloni, Nico Paz, Audero, Dossena, Lahdo, Kuhn, Tronqvist, Vigorito, Perrone, Fadera, Smolcic, Asfour, Rispoli, Diao, Van Der Brempt, Azon.
Coach: Cesc Fabregas

Pre-season is supposed to be the time to tune up, not to disappear. As the window ticks towards its final stretch, every game Jones misses sharpens the same question: is this just caution over a hip, or the quiet prelude to a move that reshapes his Liverpool story?