Midfielder is likely to leave Anfield this season and a move to the City Ground is worthwhile
Nottingham Forest are considering a move for Curtis Jones as they look to strengthen their midfield after the club’s record £116m sale of Elliot Anderson to Manchester City, but will the Liverpool midfielder leave?
The 24-year-old is entering the final year of his contract and is believed to be looking for a fresh start elsewhere after falling down the pecking order at Anfield. He has Ryan Gravenberch, Dominik Szoboszlai, Alexis Mac Allister and Florian Wirtz all ranked above him, and when he was on the pitch last season, he was often used in various odd positions by Arne Slot, including right back and right wing.
Forest are assessing their own options as they prepare for a new era under Oliver Glasner, who is set to replace Vitor Pereira as head coach. Jones has emerged as a target, and Forest could offer the Liverpool academy graduate what he could not be offered at Anfield: more regular first-team football.
Even better for the player, he also gets to stay in the highly competitive Premier League where he will matchup against the top midfield stars in their prime, instead of a move to Inter Milan, who have already held talks with Liverpool and seen two offers rejected, the latest understood to be worth about £21m.
Inter Milan are Serie A champions and a great team, but the Italian top flight is not quite at the level of the Premier League.
What do Liverpool want? The club are open to letting Jones go, but not for below their current valuation of between £35m and £40m, even though he is entering the final year of his contract.
Forest is also good for Jones because they are an ambitious club. Evangelos Marinakis’s sacking of Vitor Pereira, who kept his club up last season, to appoint Glasner, a proven winner, shows where exactly he sees Forest competing next season: if not for the Champions League places as they did under Nuno Espirito Santo two seasons ago, then at least chasing a trophy in cup competitions, or targeting European qualification.
Jones is viewed as a player who could fit Glasner’s high-intensity approach at the centre of the park as they pursue those aims.
