Inter Milan appears ready to make a decisive choice in its midfield rebuild this summer, and Curtis Jones is on the losing end of it.

The Italian champions have been linked with Liverpool’s homegrown midfielder for weeks, submitting an offer of roughly €20 million. Liverpool wants closer to €30 million. But before that gap could be bridged, a shinier option emerged: Nico Paz, the young Argentine playmaker currently on loan at Como, whom Real Madrid has made available for around €60 million.

Two targets, one midfield slot

Reports from June 20, 2026, indicate that if Inter successfully negotiates Paz’s signing, the Jones pursuit dies. Not paused, not shelved. Done.

Both players would theoretically fill a creative midfield role, the kind of position that Luis Alberto once occupied under Inzaghi during his Lazio days.

The price difference is striking. Jones would cost somewhere between €20 million and €30 million depending on how negotiations shake out. Paz would run three times that amount at €60 million.

No binding agreements have been confirmed for either player at this stage.

Why Paz over Jones

Nico Paz has been turning heads in Serie A during his loan spell at Como. For Inter’s scouting department, that matters enormously. They’ve watched him up close, in their own league, against opponents they know intimately.

The 21-year-old Argentine international brings a different profile than Jones. Where Liverpool’s academy product is a box-to-box runner with growing creative instincts, Paz is more of a pure playmaker. For Inzaghi’s system, which thrives on midfielders who can circulate the ball quickly and find runners in behind, that distinction apparently tips the scales.

Jones, for his part, has grown into a reliable presence at Liverpool. But the Reds’ insistence on €30 million, a 50% markup over Inter’s opening bid, suggests Anfield sees him as someone worth keeping unless the price is right.

The financial puzzle

Spending €60 million on a single midfielder would represent a significant outlay for Inter. The Nerazzurri’s ownership structure under Oaktree Capital has emphasized financial sustainability, which makes the willingness to pursue a deal of this size all the more telling.

Real Madrid’s decision to make Paz available is the domino that set all of this in motion. At €60 million, Madrid has set a price that says: we believe in this player’s quality, but we have enough midfield depth to let him go if someone meets our number.

What this means for all parties involved

If Inter lands Paz, adding a creative Argentine international to a squad that already features Nicolo Barella and Hakan Calhanoglu would give Inzaghi one of the deepest and most versatile midfield rotations in European football.

For Liverpool, losing out on the Jones sale would remove a potential source of transfer funds. Getting €30 million for a player who came through their academy would have been pure profit on the books. If Inter walks away, Liverpool either finds another buyer at their valuation or keeps Jones in the squad.