Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones remains Cristian Chivu's priority target to strengthen midfield, following the arrival of John Stones and with Inter Milan also working to close a deal for Djed Spence, of Tottenham. But according to La Gazzetta dello Sport, the move is blocked until Inter resolve three outgoing situations first.
Before pushing forward on Jones, Inter need to find new homes for Andrea Massolin, Kristjan Asllani and Davide Frattesi. Frattesi represents the most significant sale in terms of raising the funds required, with the midfielder valued at around €25-30 million, while Asllani's valuation sits closer to €10 million.
Aleksandar Stankovic is a different case entirely: the young midfielder is considered one of the most prized assets in the squad, and Inter have already turned down a €40 million bid for him. Despite that valuation being large enough to theoretically fund the Jones deal on its own, the club's position is that Stankovic is not for sale, leaving Inter reliant on progress with Frattesi's future above all.
Liverpool are said to be holding out for around €40 million for Jones, whose situation at Anfield has grown increasingly uncertain following visible tension in pre-season. Inter's hope is that patience will eventually force Liverpool's valuation down as the deadline approaches, though sporting director Piero Ausilio remains committed to Jones as his preferred option regardless of how long the deal takes to resolve.
Away from the transfer market, former Inter wing-back Ashley Young has offered a rare insider account of life under one of the club's most successful recent managers, Antonio Conte.
Speaking on the High Performance podcast, Young, who won the Serie A title under Conte during the 2020-21 season before eventually retiring at 40, said the Italian's methods were central to his own longevity.
"Training with him felt like madness to me, but I think that's exactly what gave me the ability to keep playing until I was 40, the age I reached before deciding to retire," Young said.
Young revealed that some of Conte's most memorable tactics were deliberate tests of the squad's loyalty.
"He would arrange to meet players and then simply not show up. It was just one of his ways of testing the group, to see whether anyone would go and knock on his door to complain or answer back. There were several experienced players who had been there a long time and wanted to confront him about it; in the end they did, and those were the same players who were frozen out shortly afterwards," he explained.
Asked why Conte's spells rarely extend beyond two years at any club, Young pointed to a breaking point that eventually arrives within every squad he manages.
"I think the breaking point comes when players start thinking: 'OK, this is being taken too far now.' People start to crack and there's a pile-up of injuries. I think even some of his own staff eventually stop agreeing with his methods, even though he tends to bring the same collaborators with him wherever he goes.
"Obviously they think: 'I have to stay with him because he's a winner,' but players are wired differently: they talk, they compare notes, they back each other up. And there are some who carry more political weight than others."