Andoni Iraola gives green light for immediate Liverpool transfer after Curtis Jones exit
Andoni Iraola has reportedly given the green light for an immediate replacement for Curtis Jones after Liverpool agreed to sell him to Inter Milan.
Academy product Jones, who hit headlines for a heated pre-season argument with Dominik Szoboszlai, has been heavily linked with a move to the Serie A giants.
According to Sky Sports, the Nerazzurri have agreed a £30 million fee for Jones and made the breakthrough on Wednesday evening.
As per Ben Jacobs, there is also a 10% sell-on clause in the deal.
Jones is now set to travel to Milan for a medical and become the third English player to sign for Inter this summer after the captures of John Stones and Djed Spence.
The 25-year-old is the fifth notable player to leave Liverpool and Iraola is desperate to add a new top-class midfielder to the ranks.
Having only signed Jeremy Jacquet, Victor Munoz and Ronald Araujo so far, The Mirror reports that Iraola has given his seal of approval for Liverpool to go after Crystal Palace's Adam Wharton.
The Reds look a little light in midfield, with Alexis Mac Allister, Szoboszlai and Ryan Gravenberch expected to have assistance from young prospect Trey Nyoni.
Wharton is considered to be the dream replacement for Iraola given his ball-playing abilities from deep.
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The England international is a man in demand and reports claim that Palace have placed a £78 million price tag on Wharton.
Palace are known to play hardball over their top talents as seen with Marc Guehi, Eberechi Eze and others.
They have also England pair Elliot Anderson and Morgan Rogers move for more than £100 million this summer and are using that as a benchmark for their valuation of Wharton.
The 22-year-old also still has three years remaining on his contract, with Palace in a strong negotiating position.
Liverpool kick off the new Premier League campaign with a trip to Newcastle on Sunday but are expected to be extremely busy before the transfer window closes at the end of the month.
A move for Ibrahim Mbaye is not expected to progress, but Liverpool are still believed to be pursuing his Paris Saint-Germain teammate Bradley Barcola.
The lack of incomings has worried plenty of Liverpool fans given the high-profile departures and Reds legend Phil Thompson believes a raft of reinforcements are required.
Speaking on the Footy Accumulators No Tippy Tappy Football podcast, Thompson said: "Defensively we do need more. It is a particular area if Jacquet isn't fully ready; who is going to be there? "It's a difficult one. We still need recruitment. I think we probably need four, maybe five players in total in different positions."
Jones ends a 16-year association with Liverpool after joining at the age of nine. He made 228 appearances in the first-team and won two Premier League titles.