​Liverpool have done the sensible thing and told Inter Milan to come back with proper money. According to talkSPORT, the Serie A club have seen a second approach for Curtis Jones knocked back, this time worth around £27m through intermediaries, after an earlier £21.6m offer was already dismissed.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThat tells you two things straight away. First, Inter want the player. Second, Liverpool are not in the mood to negotiate against themselves. The asking price is £30m, and with Jones still a useful squad option, homegrown, and entering what should be his peak years, there is no obvious reason for Liverpool to blink first.The key detail here is the club’s reaction. Liverpool reportedly saw the first proposal as “derisory” and “dismissed the second approach out of hand”. That language matters. It suggests irritation as much as caution, and it suggests the valuation has now hardened rather than softened.Jones is understood to be open to leaving Anfield this summer, and Inter have tracked him for months after another offer was rebuffed in January. Even so, Liverpool’s position is clear. If the bid does not reach £30m, they are prepared to keep him. In fact, the report says they would even be comfortable letting his contract run down and allowing him to leave on a free next summer rather than accepting a cut-price deal now.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThat may sound extreme, but it is often the right call when the market undervalues a player. Jones may not be a guaranteed starter, but replacement cost matters. You are not buying a credible Premier League midfielder, developed in-house, for peanuts.Andoni Iraola has also made his feelings obvious, and they should carry weight. The new Liverpool head coach said: “I rate Curtis very highly.” He added: “For me, he is a great player. It’s very important he’s Scouse, that he’s from here. I also like the personality.”Photo: IMAGOMost importantly, Iraola went further than polite manager-speak. “I hope we can keep him, not only for this year, more time.” That is not vague encouragement. That is a direct message that he sees value in Jones beyond being a spare part.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementIt also lines up with Liverpool’s broader stance. The club are understood to have no concerns over Jones’ attitude or professionalism, despite previous noise around his role and frustration over minutes. If there was any fear of a disruptive dressing room presence, this would be the moment to cash in. Instead, Liverpool appear relaxed.The sporting argument for a move is easy enough to understand. Jones found regular starts harder to come by last season with Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai ahead of him in the pecking order. He made 16 substitute appearances in the league, scored once and registered two assists across 34 Premier League matches. In Europe, he started only four Champions League games.That is not