According to numerous reports in multiple outlets, Liverpool defensive midfielder Curtis Jones has been given permission to travel to Inter Milan for a medical, which will be conducted tomorrow. A deal was struck late last night between the two clubs, for an agreed upon transfer fee of £30m (€35m). Business wise, this makes perfect sense for Liverpool, as Jones is currently in the final year of his deal.
From a depth chart perspective however, this transaction is quite questionable.
Premier League Season Opener
Liverpool FC at Newcastle United FYIs
Kickoff: Sun. Aug 23, 4:30pm, St. James Park, Newcastle, UK
Preview Content for Both Sides: Team News Starting XI Predictions
Latest Liverpool FC Transfer Talk: go here
Google Result Probability: Newcastle 26% Liverpool FC 50% Draw 24%
Team News for Both Sides
That is unless they already have a suitable replacement lined up, and they have been so stealth about it that even the world’s top transfer insiders (Fab, Ornstein, Plettenberg, Jacobs etc) don’t know anything about it. Now it looks like the Reds might have major depth issues in central midfield, to go along with their hole(s) on the wings. They are addressing the winger issue in the transfer market, but have seen some of their bids knocked back.
Outside of the Curtis Jones departure, there is no true Liverpool “Team News” to speak of ahead of the season opener at Newcastle.
Joe Gomez, Jayden Danns, Hugo Ekitike, Giovanni Leoni and Conor Bradley remain sidelined as longer-term injury absentees.
Shifting gears to Newcastle, Sunday marks the beginning of the Matthias Jaissle era, and the new manager has already confirmed the team news for us. Valentino Livramento is still recovering from the calf injury that forced him to miss this summer’s World Cup. He’s getting closer to full fitness, but he’s not there yet.
“It’s for sure too early [to play against Liverpool],” Jaissle said of Tino, earlier today.
“He’s only had one training session so we need to be smart with his progress. He has huge potential, I love him, but we need to wait until he’s 100 percent.”
He might be ready for next weekend, we’ll see. Meanwhile Joelinton is ruled out for the next two weeks.
“Yeah, for sure, he’s out for a couple of weeks, but I don’t want to go too much into detail as there will always be specialists involved.” Jaissle said on Thursday. “The medical department are aware of it, and I’m really confident that he will be back ASAP.”
We won’t see him until after the September international break. Jaissle has no other injury concerns at this time.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, Ratings and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes and the Washington Post.