Manchester United could offload Phil Jones in January, according to a report by the Sun.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer hasn’t given the £100,000-a-week defender a single minute of action this season.
On top of that, he has been left out of United’s Champions League squad as they kick off their campaign against Paris Saint-Germain tonight.
The report says Fulham looked at Jones in the summer, but he remains at Old Trafford.
Ridiculous asking price
The report claims United want £20 million for Jones, who has three years left on his current deal.
Put simply, that is a ridiculous demand for a player with Jones’ injury record, considering how far his stock has fallen.
Look at previous internationals with shaky injury records, like Jones, who moved this summer.
Adam Lallana and Danny Welbeck joined Brighton on free transfers. Jack Wilshere remains without a club after leaving West Ham.
No club, in the current financial climate, should commit £20 million to Jones, given how much football he’s missed.
United would be best served trying to get him out on loan, like they did with Chris Smalling last season.
If he can go somewhere and play regularly, that might pique interest in him – allowing United to command a fee, but even then, probably not £20 million.
United have struggled to offload deadwood under Ed Woodward, and with asking prices like this reported one, it’s not too difficult to see why.