Why Liverpool sold a “Gerrard-esque” Curtis Jones replacement for just £15m

Attack, attack, attack. That seems to be the focus of Liverpool‘s summer transfer window, but the truth is that FSG have a close eye on developments in the middle of the park.

Actually, the truth is that Liverpool finished the 2025/26 campaign with major surgery required, but with £60m centre-back Jeremy Jacquet already integrating in Andoni Iraola‘s new system at the start of pre-season, the first tentative steps toward a fresh defence have been taken.

More is needed, to be sure, but it feels like midfield is being thus far being neglected, and you could say that that was the crux of Arne Slot’s downfall in the Premier League last season.

Changes are required, and while substantial news of incomings is in short supply, the Reds may have their hand forced before long, with Curtis Jones‘ future at Anfield anything but certain.

Why Liverpool could sell Curtis Jones

Jones is one of Liverpool’s longest-serving first-team players, and before that, he made his way through the Reds academy, securing a breakthrough under Jurgen Klopp.

A confident and collected passer, with a burning passion for his boyhood club, the 25-year-old still isn’t securing the minutes that he believes he deserves, and that has cast doubt over his long-term future on Merseyside.

Tottenham Hotspur expressed interest in the England international back in January, but Jones is now on Nottingham Forest and Inter Milan’s radar, with the pointers suggesting that a transfer could take place before the window slams shut in under two months.

Losing Jones would be a blow, but you’d have to assume that Liverpool would be allowing him to depart with a plan in mind to strengthen Iraola’s midfield.

This is one of the most technically sound midfielders in the Premier League, a metronomic presence, offering something unique. Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch both flattered to deceive last year, so he probably feels aggrieved that he’s not playing an even bigger role.

Now that Trent Alexander-Arnold plys his trade for Real Madrid, Jones is the definitive Scouser In Our Team’. But that could soon change, and it’s surely got to leave the FSG decision-makers scratching their heads as to why they let an even bigger talent leave last summer.

Liverpool have already sold a Curtis Jones upgrade

Liverpool need to sign midfielders this summer, but while deals for Bruno Guimaraes and Sandro Tonali and Elliot Anderson dominate transfer discourse in the Premier League, FSG’s intentions are somewhat more obscure.

However, they may have been able to remove themselves from the conversation altogether, had Liverpool not sold Tyler Morton to Lyon in Ligue 1 last summer.

It makes a certain amount of frustrating sense. Slot did not hand Morton a single Premier League minute during that title-winning 2024/25 season, even though pundit Joe Hart waxed lyrical about his “Steven Gerrard-esque” passing during one outing for England U21s.

But if Liverpool felt they had played a blinder when selling him to Lyon for £15m ahead of 2025/26, their joy would have been tempered by the quality of his displays over the Channel, becoming a linchpin for his new outfit, so elegant and industrious in the middle of the park.

Jones is a talented and technical footballer, but a consistent criticism at Anfield has been his struggle to take names by the scruff of the neck, to establish himself as a leading man, capable of game-changing, show-stopping moments.

The formbook would tell you that they are not too dissimilar, but Morton is more enthusiastic in his all-action ability, with a creative edge that has paid dividends for his new club.

Indeed, the 23-year-old was among the most productive long passers and the tidiest controllers in France. He dribbled forward frequently, bearing a roundedness that perhaps evades Jones somewhat.

Morton is becoming quite the superstar in France, and it’s a real shame that Slot failed to recognise the potential in front of him.

Could we be about to suffer a similar situation with Jones? Perhaps so, but if Morton had been kept at the club last year, the anticipated sale ahead of us might be far easier to swallow.