What does Everton’s reported Phil Jones interest mean for Michael Keane?

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Everton paid Premier League rivals Burnley £30m for centre-back Michael Keane last summer but now Sam Allardyce wants Phil Jones from Manchester United.

Sam Allardyce was the man who gave Phil Jones his first Premier League start at the age of just 18 and, in that 1-1 draw with Chelsea, it quickly became apparent just what a talent Blackburn Rovers had on their hands.

Eight years on, however, fluctuating fitness and form means Jones has come nowhere near to fulfilling that monstrous potential. And with his future at Manchester United uncertain, the Times report that Allardyce is keen to reunite with the now-26-year-old at Everton at the end of this season.

But if Jones does move to Goodison Park, this would be worrying news for another one-time Old Trafford talent who never really made the grade on the red half of Manchester.

Michael Keane has been one of the most disappointing signings of this Premier League season and, in truth, has looked nothing like the £30 million centre-back they thought they were getting when they signed him from Burnley last summer.

Keane, alongside the equally erratic Ashley Williams, has been culpable for a vast number of goals this season, with only four Premier League sides conceding more times than the Toffees.

And according to the Mirror, Allardyce is willing to cash in already and Everton will even accept a cut-price deal for a player whose reputation, and price-tag, has nosedived over the last few months.

The Times report that Allardyce plans to build a new-look Everton defence around Jones, which does not bode well for Keane’s hopes of saving his Toffees career.