Iraola hands ‘great star’ shock Liverpool lifeline with £27m bid rejected and talks to open over new deal

Liverpool boss Andoni Iraola is ready to reintegrate Curtis Jones back into his fold and make him a key figure in the squad once again, with the Reds having rejected a third and final offer from Inter Milan – while the Toxteth terrier is one of three players set to be handed a shock Anfield lifeline.

The Spanish tactician was selected as Arne Slot’s successor earlier this summer after the Dutchman oversaw a tepid defence of the Premier League crown he had won with ease during his first season at the helm. Now, after being presented before the media earlier this week, Iraola has made clear his vision for Liverpool over his initial two-year contract.

A big part of those plans will likely revolve around the midfield, and there is a school of thought that suggests Iraola will need to revolutionise that area of the side if he is to bring his high-energy, high-intensity football to life.

One star who looked dead and buried under Slot was Jones, and with the midfielder entering the final 12 months of his contract at Anfield, an emotional exit looked on the cards this summer for a player who was born and raised in the city and has never played for any other side but his boyhood team.

Having rejected two Inter Milan bids earlier this summer for the 25-year-old, the Serie A champions have now come back with a third bid, worth £27m (€31.7m, $36m) that at least comes significantly closer to Liverpool’s £30m valuation of the star.

However, that offer has now been rejected out of hand, with Jones now set to stay and the possibility of a new contract no longer ruled out.

Furthermore, Iraola has underlined the star’s importance to the Liverpool side with a glowing tribute to his abilities…

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Discussing the importance of Jones to the Liverpool squad, Iraola told the Liverpool Echo: “I will have the chance to speak with him today.

“I rate Curtis very highly.

“For me, he is a great, great player, and I hope he can continue with us and continue performing the way he has been performing.

“It’s very important that he’s Scouse, that he’s from here. I also like the personality.”

And in a big hint that a new deal is on the way – in comments that will be music to Jones’ ears – Iraola added: “From the outside at least, he looks like a player with good character, and I hope we can keep him, not only for this year but for more time.”

Jones is not the only Liverpool player destined for a second chance under the new regime, with two other players cast aside by Iraola in Harvey Elliott and Stefan Bajcetic also poised for fresh chances to impress.

Elliott spent the 2025/26 season on loan at Aston Villa, who had an obligation to make the move permanent if he made 10 starts. But with their manager Unai Emery very evidently not fancying the player, Elliott was left in the cold and limited to just nine starts over the campaign.

Now back at Anfield, Iraola said: “Definitely Harvey is here with us; he has come also; I have seen him with this eagerness of showing himself, getting himself ready again.

“He will have a chance during the pre-season.

“We will need him, and it’s a good sign he came one week earlier.

“He’s been training with the U21s and I hope we can see him in a good place.

“I think Harvey comes from… especially last season had to be very difficult for him because it was a strange situation where basically they couldn’t even put him in to play.

“I think he uses this – what he has experienced – the bad situation he has experienced – to make him even more eager to be a Liverpool player, yes.”

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