Inter Milan Nears £30m Deal for Jones as Liverpool Exit Looms

Inter Milan are edging towards a £30m agreement for Liverpool midfielder Jones, with confidence growing in Italy that the deal will be wrapped up soon, according to BBC Sport.

Talks between the clubs have accelerated in recent days. What began as a sizeable gap in valuation now looks close to being bridged. Liverpool knocked back a verbal offer of £21.7m from the Italian champions in June, holding firm at around £35m for a player who has just one year left on his contract. Weeks of back-and-forth have dragged those figures towards a compromise.

Inter have not gone away. They have circled Jones for months, pushing again and again after earlier attempts were dismissed by the Anfield hierarchy. Their persistence is finally biting. The structure of the fee is still being refined, but the total package is expected to land close to the £30m Inter recently paid Tottenham for Djed Spence – a benchmark Liverpool have been using all summer.

Liverpool’s stance has been consistent. They want a price that reflects not just Jones’s Premier League experience, but his homegrown status in a squad that cannot afford to lose too many locally trained players without proper compensation. They are open to a sale at the right number, and that number is now on the table.

Inter’s interest is nothing new. They tried to prise him away in January with a loan offer including an option to buy. Liverpool shut that down quickly, unwilling to weaken their midfield mid-season. This time, with the clock ticking on his contract and the player open to a change of scenery, the dynamic is different.

For Jones, a move to San Siro would close a long, emotional story. He joined Liverpool’s academy at nine, climbed through every level and eventually broke into the first team under Jurgen Klopp in 2019. Since that debut he has racked up 228 appearances, chipping in with standout goals and performances that underlined his technical quality and composure in tight spaces.

Last season, though, told a more complicated tale. Jones featured 49 times in all competitions, but only 18 of those outings were Premier League starts. He drifted in and out of the XI, unable to fully nail down a permanent role in Arne Slot’s midfield. The minutes were there, yet the status of undisputed starter never quite followed.

Inside the club, there is still admiration. New head coach Andoni Iraola wants him to stay and sees value in his versatility and familiarity with the club’s demands. But admiration has met reality. Contract talks have stalled, and Jones is increasingly drawn to the idea of a fresh challenge at Inter, a club that has chased him across two windows and can offer a different stage and a new league.

The deal is not over the line yet. The final details remain under discussion. But with valuations converging and the player ready to turn the page, it feels like only the signatures are missing from a move that would take a lifelong Red into the heart of Serie A’s reigning champions.