Phil Jones could be heading through to exit door at Manchester United in January, with the Red Devils willing to offload him for £20 million.
According to The Sun, Manchester United are preparing for life without Phil Jones in the upcoming January transfer window. The centre-back has not been included in Ole-Gunnar Solskjaer’s plans, notably getting left out of the UEFA Champions League side, with the player himself yet to feature in a single game this season.
Jones’ first-team appearances could only be restricted to just FA Cup and EFL Cup. As a result, Manchester United are now willing to offload Englishman in January, for a fee of £20 million.
Earlier this summer, there were a lot of criticism regarding Manchester United’s lack of depth in the defensive unit, which was fueled by the late departure of Chris Smalling as the English international joined AS Roma on a permanent deal.
It now leaves Solskjaer with three viable options in central defence in Harry Maguire, Eric Bailly and Victor Lindelof. Unfortunately for the Norwegian, though, all of these three centre-backs have been in awful form in the new campaign, though club captain Maguire was one of the best players in Man United’s recent win over Newcastle United.
As for Jones, he has been a liability for the Red Devils for a few years now, often struggling with injuries and lack of form. His former defensive partner, Smalling, in that regard, has enjoyed meteoric success while on loan away to AS Roma.
So one could argue that Jones should follow suit, in order to get some more game-time under his belt. It won’t bode well for Manchester United though, who could make some money with the sale of the 28-year-old.
The defender clearly isn’t quality enough to help the Premier League giants to pose a strong threat to the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City in the long run. His departure could, in fact, help the club fund move for top targets like Marash Kumbulla in the upcoming January transfer window.
However, it is also fair to point out that an asking price of £20 million might be a bit too much for clubs given how Jones has struggled with form and injuries over the past couple of years. Although the defender still has a three-year contract, the Red Devils may have to lower their expectations if they are to get rid of him this summer.
