Journalist: Liverpool star could still leave despite Arne Slot sacking | OneFootball

Curtis Jones Future Remains Uncertain As Liverpool Prepare For Andoni Iraola Era

Curtis Jones’ future at Liverpool became part of the wider conversation on Media Matters for Anfield Index, as Dave Davis and David Lynch discussed what Arne Slot’s departure could mean for the squad.

Davis raised Jones’ social media message to Slot, noting that it read: “Thank you and all the best for the future. Respect you as a man for what you gave our club.”

Davis described it as “very specifically phrased,” and Lynch agreed with that reading. “It does just seem a bit kind of, you know, at arm’s length,” Lynch said, before adding that it felt “a bit kind of cold.”

For Liverpool supporters, that was the first major point in the discussion. Jones did post a message to Slot, but the tone of it prompted questions about the relationship between player and head coach.

Relationship with Slot appeared frosty

Lynch then addressed the suggestion that Jones and Slot may not have been especially close. “I think it shows there was no kind of love lost between the two,” he said.

He also referenced “rumours” about a falling out and pointed to Jones’ reduced role, saying Curtis “kind of dropped out the team around January and we didn’t see him for a long time.”

Still, Lynch was careful to give Jones credit for how he handled it. He said that, if there had been “some kind of big bust up,” Jones had “done well to kind of keep his cool on that.”

That was an important part of the Anfield Index discussion. Lynch did not present Jones as a disruptive figure. Instead, he emphasised that Jones had not “blown it up” publicly and had still chosen to acknowledge Slot after his exit.

Future question remains open

The uncertainty came in Lynch’s next point. After discussing the apparent tension, he said: “It does make you wonder about what this means for Curtis’s future really.”

That line matters in the context of reported interest around Curtis Jones, including talk of Inter Milan and Liverpool being in discussions over a deal. The podcast itself did not provide detail on Inter Milan talks, so the safest reading from the conversation is that Jones’ Liverpool future was already being questioned because of his role, his relationship with Slot and the wider squad changes.

Later in the podcast, Lynch also mentioned Jones when discussing possible midfield recruitment. Speaking about Alex Scott, he said that “particularly if you’re going to lose a Curtis Jones or whatever and you need an English midfielder to the homegrown numbers,” Scott would be “very, very talented” and “a good fit.”

That did not confirm an exit, but it did show that Jones leaving was being treated as a live possibility within the wider Liverpool rebuild.

Photo: IMAGO

Iraola arrival may change the picture

The possible arrival of Andoni Iraola adds another layer to the Curtis Jones question. Davis asked whether the change in style could affect certain Liverpool players, given the squad contains “a mismatch of profiles.”

Lynch identified some players who could suit Iraola’s expected intensity, but Jones was not named among those clear beneficiaries. Earlier, Lynch had also said Liverpool need to give Iraola “the right tools” and that the club need “more physicality in that central midfield.”

That could be relevant to Jones’ future. If Liverpool reshape midfield around Iraola’s demands, Jones may have to prove he fits the new structure, or the club may decide his value is better used elsewhere.

The message from David Lynch to Dave Davis on Anfield Index was clear enough without overstating it. Curtis Jones’ relationship with Slot appeared strained, his future was openly questioned, and Liverpool’s anticipated move towards Iraola could bring fresh decisions in midfield. Any reported Inter Milan talks would sit within that wider uncertainty, but the podcast itself stopped short of claiming a deal was advanced.