As Liverpool prepare for a busy summer transfer window, there is a growing expectation that some key stars could leave the club in favour of new signings.

The squad shake-up has already begun, with Andy Robetson and Mohamed Salah among the important players who have already left, while Ibrahima Konate turned down a contract extension and looks set to join Real Madrid as a free agent.

There could be others within the Liverpool ranks who could fetch a decent fee, which will help the Reds reinvest them in several areas across the team for new boss Andoni Iraola.

Harvey Elliott and Federico Chiesa are among the potential exits, alongside Curtis Jones who could leave as he enters the final year of his contract.

Recent reports have stated that Liverpool are in talks with Inter Milan over a move, but it’s a switch that could prove to be a mistake from the Merseyside club.

Curtis Jones Transfer Mistake

Jones appears to be nearing a potential exit from Liverpool, which makes sense when you consider the fact that he is entering the final year of his deal and the club may wish to reinvest any funds raised into the squad elsewhere.

However, it could prove to be a mistake for several reasons, the main one being the current state of the midfield market in comparison to offering a new deal.

Current target Alex Scott is said to be valued at £80 million if he is to leave Bournemouth this summer, while that remains on the lower end of the current scale.

Other options, such as Adam Wharton, Sandro Tonali and Elliot Anderson, have been quoted in the £100 million range, a fee that is at the extreme ends of the transfer landscape.

However, it goes to show how difficult it would be to invest wisely in a replacement, as well as how valuable these players are currently viewed as in the market.

Jones is a very capable player in his own right, finding it easy to evade pressure when building up from the back and capable of circulating play when needed.

At 25 years old, the academy graduate is still not at his peak, even though he has already been described as “incredible” during his time playing for the England national team.

He also has the potential to improve and become better, while he knows exactly what it means to be a Liverpool player having grown up around the club.

A mixture of those market factors and the quality of Jones shows that it would be a no-brainer to offer a new contract to the star, even if that comes with the promise of more game time.

However, as it appears, things seem to be moving towards a potential sale, which would be a mistake for all the reasons listed above.

Liverpool Contract Problems

The contract situation that could lead to an exit for Jones underlines an ongoing issue Liverpool have faced in recent seasons surrounding the management of the squad.

The Reds have consistently failed to be proactive when it comes to the deals players are on, partially due to some of the chaos off the pitch that has come with the changing of sporting directors and managers.

Key stars in the peak of their career have moved on for free in the form of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Ibrahima Konate, while the likes of Virgil van Djik and Mohamed Salah have been allowed to run their own deals into the final year in the last 12 months or so.

The latest challenge will be to think ahead beyond 2027, when contracts for Jones, Alisson Becker, and Van Dijk are set to expire, to get on top of the issues that are present.

Liverpool have already lost out because of those contract problems, and they could miss out again if Jones is forced to leave.

This Sunday’s UFC Freedom 250 at the White House is set to be the most controversial in company history.

Not only has the landmark show, timed to celebrate President Donald Trump’s 80th birthday, been threatened with a lawsuit, but there is also the possibility that adverse weather could affect the card.

The seven-fight event will take place on the South Lawn of the Washington DC property, with the UFC Octagon completely open to the elements.

The UFC White House Fight Card Explored

UFC Freedom 250 is the promotion’s most stacked show of the year to date. In the evening’s main event, Ilia Topuria and Justin Gaethje will meet for the undisputed UFC Lightweight Championship.

There’s even more gold on the line in the co-main event as Alex Pereira takes on Ciryl Gane for the interim UFC Heavyweight Championship. Elsewhere on the card, much-loved UFC veterans Sean O’Malley, Derrick Lewis and Michael Chandler will also be in action.

Earlier this week, it was reported that the show could be called off, with an initial weather forecast projecting a 39% chance of thunderstorms in Washington on the day of the show. That forecast, though, has since improved.

Dana White’s Plan to Deal With Bad Weather at UFC Freedom 250

UFC CEO Dana White had previously gone on record to state that the only thing that would stop the historic show would be lightning. However, the veteran matchmaker has now revealed that he even has a plan for that eventuality.

During an appearance on Adin Ross’ live stream, Dana dismissed any suggestion that the fights would be cancelled.

He insisted:

“We’re fighting [through bad weather]. If it f****** snows, we’re fighting. We’re fighting. Nothing will stop this show going that night. It could be f****** rain, lightning.”

Going back on his prior comments, White revealed that, in the event of lightning, the promotion would simply temporarily suspend the show until any storm had passed.

During a podcast appearance for MainEvent, the UFC’s Head of Production, Craig Borsari, confirmed the existence of the contingency plans mentioned by Dana.

Both men insist that rain in itself won’t cause the card to be interrupted.

“I would say, light to maybe moderate rain, we will try to continue to move forward and conclude the event,” stated Borsari.

However, in the event of anything more extreme, the production guru admitted:

“Anything beyond that, whether it’s, like I said, increased winds, high winds, lightning, we clearly need to shut down. If lightning is within eight miles of the Octagon. So, those plans are a different set of contingency planning than light to moderate rain.”

The UFC’s controversial event at the White House is nearly upon us. Despite a number of potential hurdles, the controversial show looks set to become a reality on Sunday night.

In their final friendly before the 2026 World Cup begins, England took on Costa Rica. Although the game was delayed by 30 minutes due to bad weather in Orlando, the Three Lions made a strong start and dominated throughout to win the game 3-0.

This was the last chance for Thomas Tuchel to get a look at his players before the tournament begins, with games against Croatia, Ghana and Panama to come in Group L. Having beaten New Zealand 1-0, which was an uninspired last outing, supporters would have been hoping to get a little more excitement in this match, and things certainly started brighter here.

It took just 10 minutes for England to get the breakthrough. Anthony Gordon powered past his man to reach the byline before cutting a pass back to Declan Rice, who swept the ball into the bottom corner with his weaker foot.

The other notable incident of the first half was when Noni Maduke ran through on goal, rounded the goalkeeper, but somehow then managed to hit the post. Gordon also won a soft penalty, which was correctly overturned thanks to the intervention of VAR.

The second half saw a whole host of changes made, with substitute Eberechi Eze’s shot leading to a handball and a penalty, which was converted by Gordon. Ollie Watkins then added a third with a poacher’s finish with only minutes to play.

England Ace Struggles vs Costa Rica

With Bukayo Saka not fully fit, it remains unclear if the Arsenal star will start against Croatia in England’s opener. Tuchel explained in the week: “Bukayo is just not there yet. Some things are missing… consecutive trainings. They took very good care of him [at Arsenal] and were very aware of it and we will do a little bit the same. He is at the moment not able to do every training session through the week and then play. He is still going to be managed.”

As such, Madueke was given the nod against Costa Rica. Although the 24-year-old worked hard and looked lively at times, his lack of quality when the big moments came his way was evident. At half-time, ITV pundits Roy Keane and Ian Wright both agreed Madueke needed to do more with his end product.

The most eye-catching moment came when he was put through on goal by Jude Bellingham. He took a fine touch to go around the goalkeeper but then missed the open goal, hitting the post. Wright claimed the winger should have used his right foot, while Keane simply insisted it didn’t matter which foot, he should have still scored.

Madueke was then replaced by Saka in the 63rd minute.

England Fans Not Satisfied With Madueke Ahead of World Cup

With Madueke looking like he could start ahead of Saka, should his Arsenal teammate not be deemed fit enough for that World Cup tie on 17 June, England fans have expressed their concerns. Indeed, many were unimpressed by the player vs Costa Rica, insisting he should not be given a place in Tuchel’s first starting XI of the tournament.

One fan said: [This first half has proved two things, England have no chance at winning the World Cup & Madueke + Bellingham should not start a single game.’

Another asked: ‘Madueke. How can he possibly start for England?’ While a third said:

A fourth wrote: ‘If England need to win this World Cup, Madueke shouldn’t start any of their games.’

Reacting directly to the miss, another remarked: ‘That was woeful from Madueke.’ One more added:

‘Madueke that is absolutely shocking. Get yourself on a plane home immediately.’

Others summed up the mood, noting: ‘Madueke is shocking. Absolutely shocking’. And finally: ‘Nah Madueke cannot start for England, how on earth has he missed that?’