The conflicted feelings towards Curtis Jones – the last Scouser in our team – leaving Liverpool for Inter Milan…
IN true derby winning fashion, I spent the afternoon of 20 April 2026 listening to a variety of Everton-based podcast reactions.
The melancholy was soothing in its despair. Hearing them lament pre-game hopes and dreams at the hands of Liverpool Football Club will never become tiresome.
One thing stood out that you might not expect: the venom directed towards Curtis Jones.
From the usual scowling to the more personal, appearance-based insults, the Blues had been well and truly wound-up by Jones on this day.
He was marvellous in the game and ran it from right-back in the latter stages. Jones was pivotal to the corner which led to Virgil van Dijk’s winner.
The most egregious trait Jones had was that he was a Scouser leading Liverpool to victory against Everton. As it stands, next season’s derby will have no local representation in either XI, depending on how you view the body of water which separates Liverpool and Wirral in the case of Birkenhead born James Garner.
It’s not a massive deal. Liverpool’s FA Cup winning lineup of 1986 against Everton had no Scousers in it. This isn’t a point about the semantics of Merseyside derby personnel. It’s to say, in so many ways, that Jones’ imminent move to Inter Milan is regrettable on everybody’s part.
Jones has always been an interesting case study. In no way does he model someone like Steven Gerrard or Wayne Rooney – who played in such a manner that ‘inner-urban-Liverpool’ could be marked as an attribute to their game.
Jones has always been slick, more continental as a footballer. Brought up in an age of tiki-taka and peak Barcelona influence, he modelled something of a pacesetter in a world which demanded intensity. There are tons of reasons why Italian football should be perfect for him.
Jones’ style was always used as a stick to beat him with, especially online. Where many who watched him in the flesh saw a mature, press-resistant, progressive passer. Others viewed a ponderous, slow and unimaginative footballer.
When he improved Liverpool teams from left-sided attack, ‘8’ and right-back, people scoffed he was being shunted because he couldn’t nail down a place in the side.
Statistics can also be subjective in this sense. Jones was in the 99th percentile for ball progressions (8.83 per 90) and pass percentage (91) in the Premier League last season. To many, this is just another example that he chews it or decides on the easy option in possession.
He has also been accused of the same tone-deafness most of this squad faced over the past year. While Jones was arguably most vocal and honest when Liverpool was self-imploding in 2025-26, his penchant for private jets and displays of lavishness were regular on social media.
The concept of being ‘too flash’ takes on extra complexity around Scousers. Historically, we like our own to do well, but not too well. If you start shouting about things, you’ll inevitably be shouted down and dismissed as being above yourself.
The reason for his departure clearly points to the contract. Liverpool are renowned for their particularity about where and who they give big money to. They clearly feel that Jones hasn’t warranted the same outlay as Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai – who both signed new deals over the summer.
With the club seemingly being happy for him to depart, it’s difficult to pinpoint why Jones’ departure brings regret and resigned shrug of the shoulders. As an Academy product who is Liverpool-born, this is always tough, and his 228 Liverpool appearances feels paltry. At 25-years-old, he adds to the exodus of Liverpool players in recent years, including Trent Alexander-Arnold, who have decided that their best years as a footballer should be spent elsewhere.
A clean start might be better for everyone. But this isn’t the type of ending I imagined for someone like Jones.
I hope he continues to represent Liverpool in Milan.
