Four under the radar midfielders Liverpool could target who are just like Curtis Jones

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Liverpool’s season could rest on how they decide to react to Curtis Jones’ imminent departure to join Inter Milan this summer.The Reds have agreed to let Jones leave, and though that does not deplete their best XI, it does leave only Ryan Gravenberch, Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister as serviceable, senior options.Trey Nyoni is expected to step up in place of the Scouser, but Liverpool supporters would love to see a new face join as well. Where does Curtis Jones rank among Liverpool’s greatest academy products?

The Scouser is set to join Inter Milan in a £30m deal after seven years in the first-team Photo Credit: Getty Images/Paul Ellis/AFP Aleksandr Pavlovic would be the best Jones replacementAside from Wharton, there have been virtually zero concrete links for Liverpool towards any midfielder for quite some time.That has left fans slightly baffled by the decision to let Jones go, and concern that Nyoni and potentially James McConnell are going to have to deliver beyond their means to keep the Reds afloat.There are plenty of interesting midfielders out there, though, and according to football data site Data MB, the most easily comparable is Bayern Munich’s Aleksandr Pavlovic.Looking at statistics such as duels won, possession won, progressive carries, forward passes and key passes, Jones and Pavlovic are very similar.READ MORE: How Liverpool’s squad to start the 2026/27 Premier League season compares with last year is startlingOnly 22, the German would be a younger version of Jones for Liverpool to invest in, with his forward pass percentage (a staggering 99.8% compared to Jones’ 97.9%) really standing out.Sadly, after a spate of reports from earlier in the year that Pavlovic could be a target for Man City this summer, it was claimed in the German press that the Bayern man would absolutely not be leaving. Nevertheless, he started only 16 Bundesliga matches last season, so perhaps it may be worth Liverpool testing the waters.Two Dutch starlets make the listLiverpool look set to bet on youth by letting Nyoni have a crack at replacing Jones, but they could also look to a couple of young players outside of England.Kees Smit has been tentatively linked with the Reds over the last year or so, and, despite a feeling of inevitability that he will, the Dutchman is yet to leave AZ Alkmaar.

Still only 20, Smit is more of a duel-winner than Jones (68.3% won compared to 45.2%), but is not quite as progressive with the ball.Photo by ANP via Getty ImagesIf Liverpool want to go down the route of bringing in a player who is a bit more box-to-box, Smit would look like a potential answer.So too would PSV Eindhoven’s Tygo Land, who also shows up well on this particular data.Like Smit, Land is only 20, and though he is in the middle of a two-year loan with Groningen, perhaps PSV could be convinced to tear that up and sell if Liverpool come forward.The Dutchman is a little way off Jones’ numbers, but betters him on possession won (27.3% to 26.4%) and duels (54.2% to 45.2). This would potentially not be a straightforward deal to do, but Land does have big potential, and is still fairly unknown outside of the Netherlands, meaning the fee would surely be extremely manageable.Lucas Da Cunha provides a wildcard alternativeFinally, Liverpool could potentially have been taking a closer look at Como captain Lucas Da Cunha when the Italian side came to Anfield last weekend.Now 25, Da Cunha joined Como when they were a Serie B side in January 2023, and has since developed into a real midfield all-rounder.Another good duel and ball-winner, the Frenchman has a superb left foot, and is also something of a goal threat, having hit six in Serie A last season.Though he recently signed a new deal to stay at Como until 2031, an approach from Liverpool would likely be seriously tempting for a player who has risen through the ranks under Cesc Fabregas.Liverpool will have other players on their shortlist, of course, but if they wanted to bring in a player who could emulate what Jones gave them over the years, these four could fit the description.