Curtis Jones Set to Earn £115k a Week at Inter Milan Until 2031 — Should Liverpool Have Fought Harder to Keep Their Academy Star?
Curtis Jones’ Liverpool story appears to be coming to an emotional end.
After 16 years at the club, the Scouser is reportedly on the verge of joining Inter Milan in a deal worth around £30 million (€35 million) including add-ons. Jones has already agreed personal terms and has travelled to Italy for his medical, according to recent reports.
And now another detail has caught the attention of Liverpool supporters:
A reported £115,000-a-week contract running until 2031.
If that figure is accurate, it raises an uncomfortable question:
Should Liverpool have offered Jones a similar deal to convince him to stay?
A BOYHOOD DREAM IS COMING TO AN END
Curtis Jones joined Liverpool’s academy as a nine-year-old.
He grew up in the city.
He came through the club’s youth system.
He watched the first team.
He trained at Melwood and later the AXA Training Centre.
And eventually, he walked onto the pitch wearing the shirt he had dreamed about since childhood.
That’s what makes this transfer different.
Liverpool aren’t simply losing another midfielder.
They are potentially saying goodbye to one of their own.
FROM ACADEMY PLAYER TO FIRST-TEAM REGULAR
Jones made his senior Liverpool debut during the 2018/19 season.
Over the following years, he gradually became part of the first-team squad.
There were spectacular moments.
There were periods when he looked ready to become a permanent starter.
And there were also frustrating stretches when injuries, competition and tactical decisions limited his opportunities.
By the time the 2025/26 campaign ended, Jones had made 49 appearances, although he started only 28 matches.
That inconsistency appears to have played a role in his decision to consider a new challenge.
INTER SAW SOMETHING LIVERPOOL COULDN’T GUARANTEE
Inter Milan have reportedly been interested in Jones for months.
Gianluca Di Marzio reported that the Italian club had identified him as a midfield target and that negotiations with Liverpool had been ongoing.
Inter reportedly wanted him because of his age, technical ability and international experience.
But perhaps most importantly:
They could offer him a bigger role.
For a 25-year-old footballer, that matters enormously.
THE £115K QUESTION
If reports of £115,000 per week are correct, Jones would be earning roughly £6 million per year before bonuses and other considerations.
And that is where Liverpool supporters may understandably ask:
Why couldn’t Liverpool do the same?
The answer isn’t necessarily that Liverpool couldn’t afford it.
The bigger question is whether the club believed Jones was worth that level of long-term commitment.
LIVERPOOL HAD A DIFFICULT DECISION
Jones was entering the final year of his Liverpool contract.
That changes everything.
If he stayed without renewing, Liverpool faced the possibility of losing him for nothing the following summer.
From the club’s perspective, selling now could therefore make financial sense.
Recent reports indicate Liverpool ultimately agreed a deal around £30 million, including add-ons, with a 10% sell-on clause also reported.
It is a logical business decision.
But football isn’t always just business.
WHAT ARE LIVERPOOL ACTUALLY LOSING?
The biggest mistake would be judging Jones only by statistics.
He is a midfielder who can carry the ball.
He can operate in different positions.
He has the technical ability to play in tight spaces.
He understands Liverpool’s football culture.
And perhaps most importantly, he is a player who grew up understanding exactly what the club means to its supporters.
You cannot buy that experience on the transfer market.
HE WAS NEVER JUST ANOTHER PLAYER
Imagine Liverpool buying a 25-year-old midfielder from another club for £30 million.
Fans would immediately discuss his potential.
His adaptability.
His Premier League experience.
His technical qualities.
Yet Jones already had all of those things.
And he had something extra:
He was Liverpool.
That emotional connection is difficult to put a price on.
BUT DID HE DO ENOUGH TO DESERVE £115K?
This is where the debate becomes more complicated.
Jones is talented.
There’s little doubt about that.
But Liverpool are competing at the highest level.
They need players who can consistently perform.
They need midfielders who can stay fit.
They need players capable of starting major matches.
And Jones never completely established himself as an unquestioned first-choice midfielder.
Reports have noted that he often struggled to secure a regular starting role and was sometimes used outside his natural midfield position.
So from Liverpool’s perspective, committing to a long-term £115k-a-week contract wasn’t necessarily an obvious decision.
INTER ARE BETTING ON HIS FUTURE
That’s what makes the reported five-year contract so interesting.
Inter aren’t simply paying for the Jones Liverpool had.
They’re betting on the Jones he could become.
At 25, there is still plenty of room for development.
He has already accumulated substantial experience.
He has played Champions League football.
He has represented England.
And now, with Inter, he could have the opportunity to become a more important player.
SOMETIMES A PLAYER NEEDS A NEW ENVIRONMENT
This could actually be the best thing for Jones.
At Liverpool, he was always competing against established stars.
Every position had competition.
Every mistake was magnified.
At Inter, he could potentially have a different responsibility.
A different tactical role.
A different football culture.
And perhaps most importantly, a chance to prove that he can be more than a rotation player.
THE ITALIAN LEAGUE COULD SUIT HIM
Serie A is tactically demanding.
Midfielders are expected to understand positioning.
They must read the game.
They need technical quality.
They need to know when to accelerate and when to slow the game down.
Those are areas where Jones has shown potential.
If Inter can give him the right tactical structure, he could develop into a very important player.
THE SAD PART FOR LIVERPOOL
If Jones succeeds in Italy, Liverpool supporters may eventually look back and wonder:
“Did we let him go too early?”
That’s the risk.
A £30 million sale can look sensible today.
But if Jones becomes a £60m or £70m-level player over the next few years, the conversation will change completely.
Football transfers are often judged years after they happen.
THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ARGUMENT
Liverpool supporters also have to be honest.
A sentimental attachment to an academy graduate cannot determine every transfer decision.
The club needs to build the strongest squad possible.
If Jones didn’t want to renew, or if his role wasn’t going to be significant, selling him could be the correct decision.
Keeping a player simply because he is local isn’t enough.
Liverpool need footballing reasons.
THE REAL QUESTION IS ABOUT TRUST
Perhaps the biggest issue isn’t actually the £115,000.
It’s whether Liverpool and Jones still believed in each other.
Did Jones believe Liverpool would give him the role he wanted?
Did Liverpool believe Jones could become a guaranteed starter?
If the answer to either question was no, then a contract extension was always going to be difficult.
Inter may simply have offered him something Liverpool couldn’t:
certainty.
HE WILL ARRIVE AT INTER WITH SOMETHING TO PROVE
Jones won’t be going to Italy simply to collect a salary.
He’ll want to prove himself.
He’ll want to show Liverpool supporters what they might have missed.
He’ll want to establish himself as an important player for one of Italy’s biggest clubs.
And he’ll want to push his way further into the England setup.
That motivation could be extremely powerful.
LIVERPOOL’S MIDFIELD DEPTH WILL BE TESTED
There is also a sporting concern for Liverpool.
Recent reports have warned that Jones’ departure could leave the club short of midfield depth if they don’t replace him.
That’s the part that could make the transfer look questionable.
Selling a player is one thing.
Selling him without replacing the qualities he provided is another.
Liverpool must now make sure his departure doesn’t create a problem elsewhere in the squad.
FROM ANFIELD TO SAN SIRO
For Jones, this is more than a transfer.
It’s a completely new chapter.
He has spent practically his entire football life at Liverpool.
Now he is heading to Italy.
New teammates.
New manager.
New language.
New tactical system.
New expectations.
And a new opportunity to show everyone what he can do.
MAYBE LIVERPOOL WILL REGRET IT
Maybe they won’t.
That’s impossible to know today.
If Jones struggles at Inter, Liverpool’s decision will look perfectly reasonable.
If he becomes one of Serie A’s best midfielders, people will ask why Liverpool didn’t do more to keep him.
That’s football.
Every decision has consequences.
ONE THING IS CERTAIN
Curtis Jones deserves enormous credit for making it this far.
From a nine-year-old Liverpool academy player to a first-team footballer representing his boyhood club at the highest level.
That is already an incredible achievement.
Whatever happens next, he will always have a special place in Liverpool’s history.
SHOULD LIVERPOOL HAVE MATCHED THE OFFER?
That’s the debate.
YES:
He was a homegrown player, technically gifted, experienced and still only 25. A reported £115k-a-week deal until 2031 would have given Liverpool the chance to retain an academy product who could still improve significantly.
NO:
His starting role was never guaranteed, his contract was expiring, and Liverpool could reasonably decide that committing to a long-term deal at that salary wasn’t the right investment.
Perhaps the truth is somewhere in between.
Liverpool didn’t necessarily make a terrible decision.
But they may be taking a significant gamble.
GOODBYE, CURTIS ❤️
Sixteen years.
One academy.
One city.
One shirt.
One dream.
And now, a new adventure.
Curtis Jones leaves Liverpool not as a failure, but as a player who never quite became the undisputed superstar some expected him to become.
Inter Milan are betting that his best years are still ahead.
Liverpool are betting that they can move forward without him.
Only time will tell which club made the better decision.
But if Curtis Jones really earns £115,000 a week at Inter until 2031, Liverpool supporters will have every right to ask one simple question:
“Should we have offered him the same?” 🔴⚽
The reported salary comes from the social-media claim you provided; I could verify the broader Inter move and Liverpool’s reported transfer negotiations, but not independently confirm the £115k/week figure from a primary Di Marzio report in the sources available.
