United Star Attracting Arsenal Interest
Manchester United defender Phil Jones is attracting interest from Arsenal, according to The Express.
Arsene Wenger has been in the market for a new center-back, after injuries to first choice defender Per Mertesacker and back-up Gabriel have left the Gunners with a gaping hole at the center of defence.
The manager was forced to start new signing Rob Holding alongside right-back Calum Chambers at the heart of the defence in their first Premier League game of the season, which they lost 4-3 to Liverpool.
Laurent Koscielny started the next game against Leicester, but Wenger is now desperate to find a suitable partner for the Frenchman, as Mertesacker faces up to 5 months on the sidelines.
The club have been constantly linked with Valencia defender Shkodran Mustafi, who was reported to have verbally agreed to a switch to the Emirates. But Mustafi’s massive £43.1 buy-out clause could have hampered the deal.
Arsenal have also been linked to West Brom’s Jonny Evans. However, West Brom are demanding a fee in the region of £25 million for the center-back, which again could be the factor that causes Wenger to pull out of any deal for the 28-year-old.
Due to these deals failing to go through, the Gunners have now turned their head towards Manchester United’s Phil Jones.
Jones has been the subject of speculation regarding a transfer to Stoke City, with manager Mark Hughes keen on snapping up the Englishman. However, Arsenal may try to jump in and steal a deal for the center-back.
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Mourinho has made it clear that he will refuse offers for Jones, who he believes has a big role to play for the club. The 24-year-old is currently out of favour at Old Trafford, as new signing Eric Bailly has performed well beyond expectations in his first 3 games for the Red Devils.
However, with the domestic cup competitions about to start, and with United’s involvement in the Europa League, Jones might get to play more games than he would expect. Mourinho has confirmed that he intends to use his entire squad, meaning Phil will have to patiently wait his turn.
The defender still has four years left to run on his current deal at the Theatre of Dreams.
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