Manchester United are ready to sell Phil Jones and Chris Smalling so should Everton take a closer look?
Manchester United are getting ready to sell Phil Jones and Chris Smalling in the summer, according to the Mirror, with manager Jose Mourinho having lost faith in the defensive duo.
Despite having the best record at the back in the Premier League, Mourinho wants to switch up his options there and views Leicester City’s Harry Maguire and Raphael Varane of Real Madrid as potential replacements.
It means that both Jones and Smalling could be available at the end of the season and arguably either of them would be a good addition for Everton.
The Toffees have had their own issues in defence this term, with Michael Keane, Ashley Williams and even January signing Eliaquim Mangala coming in for serious criticism.
Keane was only a £30m (BBC) addition from Burnley last summer and is unlikely to be going anywhere just yet, but the same could not be said for Williams, while Mangala is a loanee from Manchester City and will return there if he continues to fail to impress.
Then of course there is the issue that influential captain Phil Jagielka turns 36 in August and as yet there is no contingency plan in place for how to replace the centre-back.
Mason Holgate is making promising steps forward, but with only three teams in the top tier of English football having conceded more league goals than the Merseysiders in 2017/18, improvements are needed and perhaps Jones and Smalling could provide the answer.
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