Liverpool to green light €30m exit, Andoni Iraola wants him gone soon | OneFootball

Andoni Iraola has only been in charge of Liverpool for a month or so but there are a lot of changes that still need to be made.

Of course, nobody expected the Spaniard to solve every issue within his first month in charge but, fans will have probably expected more change to have occurred at Anfield.

A couple of new faces have been brought in and, surprisingly, only one player has been sold.

Indeed, three others were allowed to move on as free agents but, the fact that only Luca Stephenson has been sold for profit is rather shocking.

Most people expected there to be a massive overhaul at Liverpool this term but instead, talks have been stalled or prolonged with little to no moves being confirmed.

However, all of that may now be coming to an end, especially with the start of the 2026-27 Premier League season now just around the corner.

Liverpool could 'soften their stance' on Curtis Jones this summer

Curtis Jones is one of the many Liverpool players to have been linked with a move away from Anfield this season.

The Englishman has entered the final year of his contract and, since Arne Slot mis-used him so much during the 2025-26 campaign, he seems to have chosen to seek pastures new.

However, with Iraola now the man at the helm, he wanted to give all the players at his disposal the chance to prove their worth and fight for their place at Anfield.

And, during their pre-season tour of the USA, he's done exactly that.

After Jones' performances were fairly solid, most fans thought that he'd end up staying with Liverpool and end up fighting for a regular place in their starting XI.

Indeed, Inter Milan even cooled their interest in him with the Reds' stance sticking firm.

However, a fresh update from TEAMtalk seems to have changed all that.

"Sources have told us that intermediaries working on the deal [for Jones] have kept discussions alive and are now attempting to structure a new package worth around €30million in a bid to break the deadlock," they wrote.

"Liverpool have consistently valued Jones at closer to €35million / £30million, believing that figure represents excellent value in the current Premier League market.

"But TEAMtalk understands there is increasing confidence that the Reds could soften their stance if negotiations continue to move in the right direction.

"Sources indicate that if a sale is ultimately going to happen, Iraola has made it clear internally that he would prefer the situation to be resolved sooner rather than later rather than dragging on towards the end of the transfer window.

"Jones himself is understood to be open to the move to Inter.

"TEAMtalk understands contract talks with Liverpool are not currently on the agenda, further fuelling expectations that this summer could represent the right time for both player and club to part company.

"The midfielder’s future has also come under fresh scrutiny following Liverpool’s recent pre-season victory over Wrexham."

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Curtis Jones' future now clearly lies away from Anfield

Although most Liverpool fans have been holding onto the hope that Jones could end up staying put, right now, it doesn't seem like that's a viable option.

Indeed, Iraola has come out and told the media that he wants the Englishman to stay and that he wants him to play a prominent role in his plans during the 2026-27 season but, in reality, it's clear that his head is elsewhere at the moment.

If the midfielder wanted to stay at Liverpool, he'd have tried everything he could to make it work.

Of course, the 2025-26 season isn't one that he'll want to remember as he spent most of his time as a right-back but, with Slot gone, it's clear that these pre-season games are his time to shine.

Whenever Slot used him in his natural position, he was one of Liverpool's best players and managed to more than prove his worth.

But, with Dominik Szoboszlai, Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch all set to stay at Anfield this term, he'd certainly have to put a fight up to try and earn his place in Iraola's plans.

However, now that he's entering the prime stages of his career and only has a year left on his current contract, now feels like the most logical time for him to depart, especially if he wants guaranteed minutes every week.