Phil Jones has been linked with a loan move to West Brom in January (Getty Images)
According to The Sun (h/t Derby Telegraph), Manchester United centre-back Phil Jones has been linked with a move to Derby County in January. Jones, who was expected to exit United in the summer, felt that a move to Burnley might collapse, therefore a step down to the Championship is being reported.
The 28-year-old English defender joined Blackburn Rovers’ youth side in 2002 and his footballing journey started from there. Over the next few seasons, he progressed through the youth ranks and was finally promoted to the senior team in 2010.
He played a total of 40 games for the senior team before Manchester United came calling in 2011. He was expected to grow into a top player given the potential he showed. However, it has been anything but that.
The defender has suffered regular injuries and fitness issues. His erratic nature of defending hasn’t helped either. Despite all that, Jones has gone on to make over 200 appearances for the club, scoring 6 goals and assisting 10 more in the process (h/t Transfermarkt).
He is a full England international with 27 senior caps to his name but has been out of the national side for a while now. Jones has won the Premier League with United, as well as multiple other trophies.
Amidst all the hullabaloo going on at Manchester United, it is often easy to forget that Jones is one of the two remaining players from Sir Alex Ferguson’s time at the club. Yes, Phil Jones is still at Manchester United and he has a contract that will keep him there till 2023. Yet, the defender has been out of action since January and is still nursing another injury.
Manchester United’s defensive issues have once again come to the fore this season with some shambolic losses so early in the season. Calls for a new defender have only increased as games have passed.
However, the club needs to get someone like Jones off their books if they want to get a new face at the back. There are one too many inadequate defenders at the club and some need to make way.
Selling Jones to Derby wouldn’t be the worst decision Manchester United take. He has constantly struggled with injuries and fitness problems. His age means that United are likely to get some compensation from Derby and they should be happy at that.
