Richard Hughes' parting gift? He wants to give midfielder new contract | OneFootball

Liverpool have so far refused to buckle in transfer talks for Curtis Jones.

The 25-year-old midfielder is only under contract until June 2027 - meaning Richard Hughes is running out of time to cash in on the homegrown playmaker.

Jones - a six-cap England international - attracted heavy interest from both Inter Milan and Tottenham in January - although he ultimately ended up staying put.

The Italian champions have been back in touch this summer - sliding an offer of around £22m across the desk of the Liverpool sporting director.

Liverpool won't sell Curtis Jones cheaply

But the outgoing Premier League champions would be reluctant sellers at that price - sticking steadfastly to their £35m valuation of the boyhood Red.

Unless Inter come up with the goods there is a possibility of Jones looking elsewhere for a deal. Nottingham Forest, Arsenal and Spurs from the Premier League are thought to retain an interest - while overseas bids could come in from Juventus or Galatasaray.

But Liverpool are in no rush to sell - with Jones getting a chance to impress new head coach Andoni Iraola in preseason training next week.

New deal could emerge for Curtis Jones

And if the No17 demonstrates that he’s worth persisting with then we could even see a shock new contract offer put on the table.

That’s according to a report in the Liverpool Echo - which claims the club want to keep hold of their two-time Premier League title-winning midfielder.

“Curtis Jones faces an uncertain future as he continues into the final year of his deal,” the report reads.

“The midfielder had been wanted by Italian giants Inter but their offer fell shy of £22m last month when the Reds had been looking for closer to £35m.

“Liverpool would prefer to keep Jones and re-open talks with his representatives but no discussions are currently lined up and it remains to be seen if new coach Andoni Iraola can offer the sort of game-time that might force a rethink inside the player's camp.

“Nottingham Forest have been linked with Jones after their £116m windfall for selling Elliot Anderson to Manchester City. Liverpool won't be willing to conclude a deal with Forest on the cheap, however, given the injection of capital that came from the enormous fee for Anderson.”

Richard Hughes' parting gift before leaving for Saudi Arabia

Jones signed his last Liverpool contract in 2022 as a fringe player under Jurgen Klopp.

His relatively junior squad member status back then will be reflected in his pay packet and Liverpool have been up to now unwilling or unable to meet Jones’ demands for a new deal.

But given the change of head coach he could be given a new lease of life in preseason and force his way up the list of potential renewals to be done before Richard Hughes leaves town for Al-Hilal of the Saudi Pro League.