After Djed Spence helped Nottingham Forest knock both Arsenal and Leicester City out of the FA Cup, you maybe would have expected more of a reaction from the Riverside.
Especially when you consider that Middlesbrough, Spence’s parent club, are now just four points in front of Forest in the Championship table, going head-to-head with Steve Cooper’s upwardly-mobile side for a play-off place.
But there’s a reason why Spence’s eye-catching performances at the City Ground have gone somewhat under-the-radar back home at Boro. And that reason is Isaiah Jones.
“He’s a very good player. It is a compliment to him that a good player like Spence is out on loan,” Derby County boss Wayne Rooney said of the 22-year-old recently.
Rooney was speaking after Middlesbrough thumped Derby 4-1 on February 12th.
Jones set up two of Boro’s strikes. And, if own goals counted, the 22-year-old would have marked an irrepressible performance with a hat-trick of assists against Rooney’s Rams.
“The lad has a bright future ahead of him. And it was because of Jones that we felt we had to set up differently,” adds the former England captain, who altered his tactics in a doomed attempt to quell the influence of a man who was plying his trade in the Scottish second tier with Queen of the South last season.
Is Isaiah Jones the Championship’s biggest talent?
Rooney is far from the first manager who’s been powerless to prevent the jet-heeled Jones running his defence ragged.
Is there a more exciting young footballer outside of the Premier League at present? And, if Spence is valued at £15 million, how much would it take to lure Jones, labelled ‘outstanding’ by the famously hard-to-please Chris Wilder, away from Middlesbrough?
With TEAMtalk reporting that scouts from all across the continent are descending upon the North East, we may have an answer to that particular poser soon enough.
Crystal Palace, Arsenal, Leeds United, West Ham and Wolves are reportedly watching Jones closely.
As are Atletico Madrid, Ajax, RB Leipzig, Lyon and Roma. So to a Tottenham Hotspur side who, under Antonio Conte, would fit this swasbuckling, technically-gifted right-wing back like a velvet glove.
Jones might not have Barcelona or Brazil on his CV, like Emerson Royal. But there’s no debating which of the two boasts more quality in the final third. And it’s not the man Spurs paid £25 million for last summer.
Can Middlesbrough keep him?
There’s a bit of the Reece James’ about Jones. Whenever he picks up possession on the right hand side, Jones’ first thought is always to make a yard of space before whipping a cross into the penalty box.
More often than not, it’s on the money too.
“Let’s all shut up and not shout about it too much!” former Middlesbrough man Neil Maddison quipped recently.
He, like most Boro supporters, is hoping Jones’ match-winning displays fly under the radar for as long as possible.
But with Tottenham, Arsenal, Leeds, Ajax, Atletico and more alerted to Jones’ talents, there’s not much chance of that.
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