Andoni Iraola has confirmed he will hold talks with Curtis Jones over his future and hopes the midfielder remains at Liverpool amid interest from Inter Milan.
The Italian giants have had two bids rejected by Liverpool since the end of last season, with their latest offer falling well short of the £35million valuation the club have placed on Curtis Jones, who is entering the final 12 months of his contract.
The academy graduate has been assessing his options in search of more regular game time after making just 18 league starts last season under Arne Slot, with some of those appearances coming at right-back.
However, Iraola wants Jones to stay at his boyhood club and revealed he planned to speak with the 25-year-old on Monday to convince him that his future remains at Anfield.
“I will have the chance to speak with him today,” the new Reds head coach said. “I rate Curtis very highly.
“For me he is a great, 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. I also like the personality.
“From the outside at least he looks like a player with good character and I hope we can keep him, not only for this year but for more time.”
Iraola, who penned a two-year contract last month after replacing the sacked Slot, added: “I think working in any club, it’s not only the clubs that are fighting for titles.
“If you analyse the Premier League you see every year the number of managers who get sacked or who don’t continue at the end of the season.
“From last season to this season I think half of the Premier League will have changed their managers.
“We assume this job is not easy but, for me, I’m worried about how I build a good team, how I build a team that people can connect with and feel proud of? If we get this I think the rest will get easier.
“You cannot think in terms of consequences. No. Just do your job as good as you can and then everything else will follow. I don’t think it depends on you.”
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