Phil Jones (Getty Images)
According to The Sun, Manchester United could look to let Phil Jones leave in January, provided they can get around £20million for him. The defender has fallen down the pecking order in recent seasons and was also excluded from United’s Champions League and Premier League squad lists.
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.
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.
One of the two remaining relics from the historic Ferguson era, Jones never quite looked settled at the club. Constant injuries, error-prone defending and fitness problems have plagued him throughout his time at the club.
However, now that the club have an well-stocked defence, Jones was the ultimate casualty, he was left out of the club’s squad for the major competitions. He hardly featured last season. He was only used when the squad was rotated and in EFL Cup games.
With United needing a defender sooner than later, it is imperative that they offload Jones and get some amount of cash from the sale. It is clear that Jones’ time at the club is over and United would be better off without him.
At 28, it wouldn’t be very hard to find suitors for the former Blackburn man. The only concerns would be United’s valuation and the player’s injury-prone nature.
