Curtis Jones has departed Anfield to continue his career with Inter Milan, bringing an end to his two-decade association with the Merseyside club after progressing through their youth system.
Following confirmation of his departure, his former colleagues at Liverpool publicly expressed their sentiments about his exit.
The 23-year-old midfielder, who emerged from Liverpool’s academy, completed his transfer to the San Siro after Inter accepted a bid of £30million from the Premier League side. This switch concluded Jones’ remarkable 20-year tenure with the red half of Merseyside.
Prior to his departure, Jones shared an extensive farewell message on social media directed at his teammates and supporters, reflecting on his time at the club where he secured two league championships, the Champions League, the FA Cup, the League Cup and the Club World Cup.
Upon his Instagram post going live, numerous Liverpool players responded with farewells. Liverpool’s £116million acquisition Florian Wirtz posted a heart symbol while Trey Nyoni also reacted.
Conor Bradley appeared particularly affected by the separation, adding a crying face symbol, with Virgil van Dijk, Milos Kerkez and Giovanni Leoni similarly responding with heart emojis.
Jones will not be the sole England international representing Inter in Italy. The club has also secured John Stones on a free transfer and former Tottenham defender Djed Spence.
During his Liverpool career, Jones accumulated 228 appearances across all competitions, contributing 22 goals and 25 assists. Last term, he featured in 34 top-flight matches, with half of those appearances coming from the substitutes’ bench.
The midfielder earned six senior caps for England but failed to secure a place in Thomas Tuchel’s squad for the recent World Cup tournament.
Inter had previously explored signing Jones during the January transfer window, proposing a loan arrangement with an option to make the move permanent, though Liverpool rejected this approach.
The club also declined a verbal bid of £21.7million in June, prior to the World Cup. The subsequent offer of £25.7million plus an additional £4.3million in performance-related clauses was accepted by Inter just days before Liverpool’s opening Premier League fixture against Newcastle United.
Jones represents the fourth established first-team player to depart Anfield this summer. Mohamed Salah was the initial departure, moving to Turkish club Trabzonspor after his contract expired.
Andrew Robertson and Ibrahima Konate also left as free agents, joining Tottenham and Real Madrid respectively.