Simon Stone
BBC Sport Manchester United reporter

Manchester United's midfield reconstruction is nearing completion.

After signing Andrey Santos from Chelsea and Youri Tielemans from Aston Villa in the space of 24 hours last month, there has been an element of 'will-they, won't-they' about the past five weeks.

At times, it felt the 'third midfielder' search has taken on a life of its own.

Real Madrid's Aurelien Tchouameni was heavily touted, so too Bournemouth's Alex Scott and Roma's Manu Kone. In more recent days, the name of Fulham's Sander Berge has become more prominent. That of Bournemouth's Tyler Adams has never gone away.

United privately played down potential interest in Brighton's Carlos Baleba.

But in a sense, they didn't need to be actively interested in him. Most of the work was done 12 months ago, when United made a play for him but backed off when they discovered the asking price would be in excess of £100m.

Now the first offer has gone in; £60m, plus an additional £5m. It won't be enough.

Talks are continuing though and the expectation is the transfer will get done.

Image source, Getty Images

Thanks James.

We're moving on now. Let's check in at Old Trafford, where they are preparing to welcome Brighton midfielder Carlos Baleba.

Liverpool

Here are some of your comments:

John: It's about time. I hope Curtis Jones finds another level abroad. He was always just short of a first-choice player.

Dave: I don't like this business of selling Jones at all. I wish Curtis all the best but such a shame to be losing a very talented local player from the team. I felt he always had the ability to deserve more game time. I guess financial regulations mean it's a 'pure profit' sale, so I understand we may need to offset, but I've never liked that 'pure profit' aspect either, as it encourages sales of home-grown and club-trained players. Similar to what happened with Jarell Quansah, and I think that was a mistake...

Jay: Nice to have a local lad around, but Jones really hit his ceiling a few seasons back. His concentration was his downfall. Too often walking around our 18-yard box and watching the game. Hasn't been able to break into the team and play at a high level consistently. Dominik Szoboszlai coming in and progressing so well has highlighted Jones' limitations. Time to sell before it becomes another contract saga. With John Stones and Djed Spence going to Inter Milan this summer, it's going to be a much easier transition for Curtis. The cash is definitely going towards getting at least one winger from PSG, so all round, a good deal. Good luck to the lad, he's leaving with a sackful of trophies and superb memories.

Jim: Frankly, he wasn't going to get much game time, and although he is a local boy, other than a decent holding midfielder, we have a lot of options in that area of the park. Therefore, any money is good money. Maybe this might finally help us get some of the other mooted deals over the line. It still begs the question of who we have of real quality that is going to fill the homegrown quota though.

Inter Milan

The squad of the Italian champions will have a distinctly English flavour next season if all their proposed deals go through.

Curtis Jones would be the third English player signed by Inter this summer, after John Stones and Djed Spence.

Former Manchester City defender Stones moved to Inter earlier this summer on a free transfer after his contract at Etihad Stadium expired.

Spence completed his move to the San Siro from Spurs last week, after featuring in all eight of England's games at the World Cup. The deal is reported to be around £25.6m.

Inter do have a history of signing Englishmen, with Paul Ince and Ashley Young both former representatives of both the Nerazzurri and the Three Lions.

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If Curtis Jones leaves Anfield, it will represent another home-grown player who has left Liverpool and another severed connection between squad and fans.

So how many first team players remaining at Liverpool will have come through the academy if Jones goes?

Goalkeepers: Vitezslav Jaros

Defenders: Conor Bradley

Midfielders: Trey Nyoni, Stefan Bajcetic, James McConnell

Forwards: Rio Ngumoha

Image source, Getty Images

Aadam Patel
Football Reporter

Image source, Getty Images

In the end, Curtis Jones wanted to explore a new opportunity in Italy and Liverpool were not willing to stand in his way.

Last summer, it was Trent Alexander-Arnold who left his boyhood club for Real Madrid and this summer, it is Jones who has done the same for Milan.

From Liverpool's perspective, a £30m package represents good value as Jones only had one year left on his current deal.

Selling Jones also generates an immediate pure profit on a home-grown asset. It was either now or selling him for less in January or for free next summer.

On the pitch, Jones was versatile enough to play in a number of positions but he struggled to make one position his own. Off the pitch, Jones has always been honest and someone willing to take responsibility.

He played 95 games for Liverpool in two seasons under Arne Slot so his presence as a solid squad option will be missed under Andoni Iraola but it will give an opportunity for 19-year-old Trey Nyoni, who impressed in pre-season, to step up.

"I rate Curtis very highly," Iraola said in his first press conference. "For me he is a 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," Iraola added.

Interestingly, Liverpool won't have a Scouser in their senior first-team setup anymore. The effect of that remains to be seen.

Senior debut: 2019, under Jurgen Klopp

Appearances (in all comps): 228

Goals: 22

Assists: 25

All comp appearances in 2025-26: 49

League starts in 2025-26: 18

Senior England caps: Six

Honours: 2018-19 Champions League, 2x Premier League (2019-20, 2024-25), 2022 FA Cup, 2x League Cup (2022, 2024), 2023 European Under-21 Championship

Image source, Getty Images

Aadam Patel
Football Reporter

Curtis Jones is set to join Inter Milan after the Italian side agreed a deal worth £30m with Liverpool.

The Reds have formally accepted an offer worth £25.7m plus £4.3m in add-ons.

In June, Liverpool rejected a verbal offer of £21.7m from Italian champions Inter, but a deal for the 25-year-old, who has one year left on his contract at Anfield, has now been agreed.

Jones will travel to Italy today to complete his medical and the agreement includes a 10 per cent sell-on clause for Liverpool.

Liverpool were open to selling Jones and wanted something in line with the package that Inter paid Tottenham for Djed Spence.

The Serie A side were interested in Jones in January and proposed a loan with a view to a transfer but that was turned down by Liverpool.

Thanks to everyone who has got in touch with their thoughts so far this morning.

Keep your comments coming, and remember our reporters are on hand to answer any burning questions you might have.

Next up, we've got another Englishman on the move.

Villans, how are you feeling about the departure of Konsa?

As for the rest of you, is excitement for the return of the league kicking in yet?

Which deals are you most desperate to see done in the 12 remaining days of the transfer window?

Click 'Get Involved' to join the conversation.

Nick Mashiter
BBC Sport football news reporter

Usually, winning the Europa League and qualifying for the Champions League would leave a club in a position of strength.

However, Villa have been picked apart this summer to become a victim of the system they have been vocal against.

Ensuring they comply with Uefa and the Premier League's financial rules led them to sell Morgan Rogers to Chelsea for a record £117m.

Even then, Youri Tielemans - who like Rogers scored in May's Europa League win over Freiburg - was also sold to Manchester United.

Villa wanted to alter their left-back profile so Lucas Digne was allowed to join Paris St-Germain, with Atletico Madrid's Matteo Ruggeri replacing him.

Now, though, there is still huge uncertainty over Villa's squad just four days before they start the season at Brighton.

Image source, Getty Images

Aston Villa

Ezri Konsa joined the Villans in July 2019 and has made 286 appearances over the past seven seasons.

The 28-year-old featured 48 times last term in all competitions, scoring two goals and contributing one assist, as Unai Emery's side lifted the Europa League and finished fourth in the Premier League to secure Champions League football for 2026-27.

Konsa has not featured at all during Aston Villa's pre‑season, including the 2‑1 defeat to Paris St‑Germain in the Uefa Super Cup, after Emery gave him four weeks off following the World Cup.

He played in every game of England's World Cup run as the Three Lions finished third.

Speaking after the final warm‑up match against Borussia Monchengladbach, Emery explained the absence of Konsa, Emiliano Martinez and Ollie Watkins, saying: "They are joining us after this match."

Sami Mokbel
BBC Sport Senior football correspondent

Arsenal have agreed a deal worth more than £50m to sign Aston Villa defender Ezri Konsa.

The England international is set to have a medical before completing his move to Emirates Stadium.

BBC Sport revealed last week that Arsenal had reopened talks with Villa over a deal for Konsa but still fell short of reaching an agreement.

The Gunners then appeared to pivot to Bayer Leverkusen's Jarell Quansah.

However, Arsenal refocused their efforts on Konsa and have now struck a deal for the player with Villa.

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