Arne Slot has an interesting theory on why Inter Milan tried to sign Curtis Jones last month

Arne Slot has put forward one reason as to why Inter Milan reportedly approached Liverpool over Curtis Jones during the January transfer window.

Towards the end of last month as the deadline drew near, Fabrizio Romano claimed (via X) that the Serie A leaders had entered ‘direct club-to-club talks’ with Anfield chiefs regarding a potential move for the 25-year-old, although James Pearce roundly denied such speculation.

Last week, the Reds’ head coach said that it would’ve been a ‘strange’ decision by FSG if they had cashed in on the midfielder, who’s now into the final 18 months of his contract at his boyhood club.

Slot explains his theory on Inter approach for Jones

Speaking to the media on Friday, Slot suggested that Liverpool’s self-sustaining business model may have emboldened the Inter hierarchy to try their luck for Jones, something they mightn’t have done if he were playing elsewhere.

The head coach said (via Liverpool Echo): “I think it is perfectly normal that very good football players are in the interest of big clubs, like us, trying to extend with him and clubs wanting to sign him.

“If you go to the end of your contract, I think it is also normal that other big clubs think: ‘Hmmm, maybe there’s a deal to be done’. Because, and I am saying this every time I am standing here lately, you know our model.

“Other clubs know our model as well, so other clubs might think: ‘Okay, there is no use calling them because they don’t sell’. We have a different model, so that could be the reason why there has been some links with other clubs.”

An interesting theory by Slot as Jones’ future remains a talking point

Slot’s comments offer an intriguing window into his perception of how Liverpool do business, and one might wonder whether he wishes that model was different.

Plenty has been made of the Reds spending almost £450m on new signings last summer, but much of that investment was offset by the sales of numerous Premier League title winners from last season, including Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez, Caoimhin Kelleher and Trent Alexander-Arnold.

In spite of the latter’s much-publicised transfer to Real Madrid, LFC isn’t a staging post towards an upwards career move for players in the same way that it may have been a few years ago, as we saw with the likes of Xabi Alonso, Javier Mascherano, Luis Suarez and Philippe Coutinho.

Nonetheless, Inter may have looked at the departures from Liverpool in 2025 and felt that an enquiry for Jones was worthwhile, but thankfully the Anfield hierarchy were in no mood to entertain those advances.

In the same interview, Slot insisted that the midfielder will be ‘part of our plans’ into next season and is ‘good enough’ to start for the Reds, even though he’s been in and out of the line-up in this campaign.

The 25-year-old’s future will remain a latent talking point until such time that his contract situation is resolved, but hopefully he can be convinced to spend the prime years of his career at the club where he made his name.

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