‘Outstanding debut’ – Curtis Jones is already wowing Italian media after dramatic Inter comeback
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It hasn’t taken Curtis Jones long to have Italian football media singing his praises after making his home debut for Inter Milan in a five-goal thriller over the weekend.The 25-year-old left Liverpool for the Nerazzurri in a £30m transfer last month, ending a 16-year association with his boyhood club, and his first San Siro appearance in his new team’s colours is one he won’t forget in a hurry.The Scouser came on at half-time with the deadlock still to be broken, but Napoli opened up a 2-0 lead inside eight minutes of the restart. Cristian Chivu’s side restored parity in the 82nd minute before Lautaro Martinez completed the turnaround in stoppage time.Jones praised for his role in Inter comebackJones – who made his Inter debut in the win at Cagliari the previous weekend – was involved in the move which led to the Argentine striker’s winning goal, and Gazzetta dello Sport writer Francesco Pietrella was hugely impressed with the ex-Liverpool midfielder.The 25-year-old ‘settled into the left central midfield role and displayed immense character’ in the win over Napoli.The reporter added: ‘His adaptation is clearly progressing.
Coming on for [Petar] Sucic at the start of the second half, his very first touch saw him bypass [Matteo] Politano and distribute the ball out to the left. He also delivered the cross from the attacking third that set up Lautaro’s decisive 3-2 goal. ‘In essence, it was an outstanding debut at San Siro.
Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for news you can trustJones off to a strong start in Italy after Liverpool exitJones’ sale to Inter elicited rueful gnashing of teeth among many Liverpool fans at the exit of the only local first-team player at Anfield, with the transfer reducing Andoni Iraola’s options in midfield and amplifying concerns over squad depth in that position.As the figures below from Sofascore illustrate, the 25-year-old was quite influential in the Nerazzurri’s remarkable comeback against Napoli on Saturday. Passes completed 31/35 (89% success) Duels won 5 Tackles won 2 Successful dribbles 1 Key passes 1 However, as James Pearce pointed out, the Reds were left with ‘little option’ but to cash in on the midfielder last month, with our former no.17 having entered the final year of his contract and not intending to renew his deal on Merseyside.The £30m fee still seems quite low in today’s market for a Premier League winner and England international in his mid-20s with more than 200 senior Liverpool appearances, but it’s preferential to seeing him walk out the door on afree transfer next summer.It’s a shame that Jones couldn’t be persuaded to remain at Anfield, but we’re glad to see him making a strong start for Inter and hopefully he’ll go on to thrive in Italy.