Why Leicester decided against a transfer for Man United’s Phil Jones
By Akash Roy
Despite all the suffering endured by Leicester City, they were still not sold on signing Manchester United’s Phil Jones on loan during the January transfer window.
It might sound perplexing why the Foxes adamantly opted not to bring the 29-year-old centre-back to the King Power Stadium. An addition at the fragile backline for the remainder of this season would have gone well.
As we understand it, the meticulous decision was made after a proper consultation concerning the pros and cons of such a move. Reinforcing the backline was one of the appealing factors, but on the contrary, Jones’ bad injury records were proving to be too much of a gamble for Leicester City.
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Phil Jones has received no proposal from Trabzonspor, there are no talks or discussions. Jones turned down two approaches from Bordeaux on Deadline Day. 🔴🏴 #MUFC
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) February 3, 2022
Man United are prepared to keep him until the end of the season.
Jones remained out of action for nearly two years after a devastating knee injury. Ralf Rangnick took a chance of using the English defender following an injury to Harry Maguire, coupled with existing injuries to Eric Bailly and Victor Lindelöf. Jones returned to first-team action in a 1–0 home defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers on 3 January 2022.
His performance impressed many fans. Since then, the paper talks began to sign the centre-back on loans as United had a surplus of players accommodated for that position. But any team tempted to do that needs to have a good look at the value he adds with risk measurements.
"“Phil Jones was mooted to Leicester as a possibility but it was quickly decided he was the wrong profile of defender they were pursuing. They wanted a younger, athletic, defender, more in the style of Wesley Fofana. There were also concerns about Jones’ injury record, considering Leicester have plenty of their own problems with absentees.”Source: The Athletic UK"
Leicester City, having a transfer bust with Jannik Vestergaard and Ryan Bertrand, are not looking to take another chance. At 29 years of age, Jones is more than likely to endure more injury issues. The East Midlands side is already working with a shoestring budget, and they cannot afford to spend on someone without assurance.
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Saving the allowances every step of the way paves opportunities to invest and make sales accordingly in the summer transfer window. For now, it is up to Brendan Rodgers to sail us to the shore. We can expect that the returns of Wesley Fofana and James Justin will prove to be a success for the Foxes.