Roberto Firmino of Liverpool celebrates with team mates Curtis Jones, Fabinho and Curtis Jones the Premier League match between Leicester City and Liverpool FC at The King Power Stadium
Roberto Firmino of Liverpool celebrates with team mates Curtis Jones, Fabinho and Curtis Jones the Premier League match between Leicester City and Liverpool FC at The King Power Stadium (Image: 2023 Visionhaus)
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With little over a week to go until the start of the new Premier League season, Curtis Jones’ Liverpool future remains as uncertain as ever. The England international is out of contract next summer and continues to attract interest from Internazionale.
The Serie A giants failed in an attempt to sign the 25-year-old back in January, and have already seen an offer of around £21m rejected by the Reds back in June.
Inter then renewed their interest in Jones at the end of last month as they contacted the Reds over a potential deal worth £30m - though that figure still falls short of Liverpool’s £35m valuation.
Fabrizio Romano has reported that the Italian outfit intend to step up their pursuit of Jones after selling Davide Frattesi to Lazio.
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Reds head coach Andoni Iraola confirmed at the start of July that he would prefer to keep the midfielder at Anfield, and hoped he would extend his contract with his boyhood club.
But with Inter still giving chase, few would be surprised if Jones did move on - be it this summer, for a cut-price fee in January or on a Bosman transfer next summer at the end of his contract.
The 25-year-old’s absence from Liverpool’s matchday squad against Monaco last weekend set tongues wagging further about his future, though Iraola later revealed Jones had been left out as a precaution because of a minor hip issue.
Having taken part in training on Wednesday, it remains to be seen whether he will feature for the Reds in either of this weekend’s final pre-season friendlies against Como.
But should Jones edge closer to the exit door in the forthcoming weeks, he could join a rather exclusive Liverpool club.
The midfielder scored the final goal of Arne Slot’s Anfield reign as the Reds saw out a disappointing season with a 1-1 draw at home to Brentford last May in their last competitive fixture.
Should such a match prove to be Jones’ final competitive appearance for Liverpool, he will become the latest player to depart after scoring in his last outing for the club.
ECHO columnist John Aldridge memorably scored when making his final appearance for the Reds back in 1989, coming off the bench to score a penalty in a 9-0 thrashing of Crystal Palace ahead of signing for Real Sociedad.
Meanwhile, 18 players to date have scored in their last games for Liverpool in the Premier League era, with Reds legend Roberto Firmino the most recent star to join the list.
The Brazilian was on the scoresheet in May 2023 as Liverpool finished the season with a crazy 4-4 draw away at Southampton. The forward was already confirmed to be leaving the club at the end of his contract and would go on to sign for Saudi side Al-Ahli.
Firmino is not the only player to depart with a goal knowing it would be his final appearance for the club.
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Steven Gerrard infamously did in a 6-1 thrashing at the hands of Stoke City back in May 2015 ahead of his Bosman transfer to LA Galaxy, while Vladimir Smicer scored in a rather more memorable send-off when helping the Reds come from behind to win the Champions League against AC Milan in Istanbul back in 2005.
The Czech midfielder is not the only player to sign off with both a goal and a trophy, with Djibril Cisse managing to get on the scoresheet in what proved to be his final appearance for the club as they won the FA Cup against West Ham United in May 2006. Unlike Smicer however, the Frenchman did not know he would be moving on, with the forward initially joining Marseille on loan before the switch was made permanent.
Nicolas Anelka also scored in the final match of his loan move from Paris Saint-Germain when Liverpool beat Ipswich Town 5-0 back in May 2002, though it is well-documented that the Frenchman had hoped his temporary stint would be made permanent.
Dominic Solanke, Jordon Ibe, Daniel Agger, Michael Owen and Paul Ince also all scored on the final day of a Premier League campaign in what would prove to be their final appearances for the Reds.
Solanke was on the scoresheet for a rotated Liverpool side that finished their domestic campaign with a 4-0 thrashing of Brighton & Hove Albion ahead of a 2018 Champions League final meeting with Real Madrid. However, the striker did not actually leave the Reds until the following January when he signed for AFC Bournemouth.
Ibe also netted for a rotated side against West Bromwich Albion as Jurgen Klopp rested players ahead of a 2016 Europa League showdown against Sevilla. The winger would depart for Bournemouth later that summer.
Agger scored in a 2-1 win over Newcastle United in May 2014 as Liverpool narrowly missed out on winning the Premier League title before returning to Danish side Brondby, while Owen was on the scoresheet against the Magpies also as the Reds finished the 2003/04 season with a 1-1 draw at Anfield.
He would later be left as an unused substitute for Rafa Benitez’s first game in charge against Grazer AK amid interest from Real Madrid before leaving for the La Liga giants.
Meanwhile, Ince netted in a 3-0 thrashing of Wimbledon before being bombed out by Gerard Houllier and leaving for Middlesbrough after the Frenchman deemed his captain surplus to requirements.
Elsewhere, Takumi Minamino and Peter Crouch scored against Southampton and Birmingham City in May 2022 and April 2008 before moving on in search of starting opportunities elsewhere at AS Monaco and Portsmouth after dropping down the pecking order at Anfield.
Suso also scored in his final appearance before leaving after falling out of favour as he netted in a League Cup clash with Middlesbrough in September 2014. Within the final year of his contract, and having rejected an extension, he would ultimately leave for AC Milan in a cut-price deal the following January.
Mamadou Sakho left Liverpool in controversial circumstances, signing permanently for Crystal Palace in August 2017 after a successful half-season loan. His final appearance for the Reds had come 16 months prior as he netted in a memorable 4-0 thrashing of Everton only to then find himself sidelined as he was investigated by UEFA and suspended for violating an anti-doping rule.
Although the case was later dismissed and the Frenchman was exonerated as a result, he would ultimately never play for the Reds again after infamously falling out with Klopp on Liverpool’s pre-season tour of the United States.
Karl-Heinz Riedle is the only player in the Reds’ history to score multiple goals on what would prove to be his final appearance for the club. The veteran German netted a brace in a 4-2 League Cup victory over Hull City in September 1999 before leaving for Fulham.
Layton Maxwell also scored against the Tigers that day, with the match ultimately acting as both his Liverpool debut and only appearance for the club.
Club legend Jan Molby is another to have scored in what would prove to be his final appearance for the Reds, rather fittingly converting a penalty as Liverpool lost 3-2 to Coventry City in March 1995.
And the first Reds player to score in their final Reds outing during the Premier League era was Dean Saunders back in September 1992. The Wales international scored in a 2-1 victory over Chelsea in the inaugural campaign of the revamped English top-flight, only to be sold to Aston Villa days later.
He would come back to haunt Liverpool just two weeks after his final appearance for the Reds, netting a brace for Villans on his home debut for the West Midlands club as they clinched a 4-2 win in a game which is best remembered for Ronnie Rosenthal missing an open goal.
Only time will tell if Jones will find himself added to such a list in the forthcoming weeks.
Liverpool open the Premier League season away at Newcastle United on Sunday 23 August before hosting Nottingham Forest on Saturday 29 August, with the transfer window then closing on Tuesday 1 September.
Should Jones still be a Reds player when the season gets underway but not be called upon in either fixture, speculation about his future will inevitably only grow.
But if he featured in either game to add to his 228 appearances for his boyhood club, then his Liverpool story would not be over just yet even if Inter still hope to lure him through the Anfield exit door.