Manchester United should use Phil Jones to land West Ham defender Issa Diop

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According to The Sun, Manchester United held an interest in signing West Ham United star Issa Diop during the summer of 2019.

The Red Devils were keen to bolster their ranks and although the club signed Harry Maguire, they may return at the end of the season.

Yesterday it was reported by The Mirror that the Hammers are keen to sign United defender Phil Jones.

As a result, United should seriously consider using the 28-year-old as a form of bait to try and add Diop to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s ranks.

It is thought that Diop is valued at around £60 million and adding Jones into the deal might lower that somewhat.

The Frenchman has been superb for West Ham since signing in 2018 from Fiorentina. He has played 64 games and scored five goals for the Hammers, becoming a firm fan favourite.

He is strong in the air, good at playing the ball out from the back and tackles impressively well.

The 23-year-old still has lots of unearthed potential and he would be the ideal partner alongside Maguire.

Jones has been at United since 2011 and was tipped for stardom by Sir Alex Ferguson following his arrival.

He hasn’t quite scaled those heights and the report from yesterday claims that United now value the defender at £12 million.

Improvements

Jones has 27 England caps and has also made 224 appearances for United during his time at Old Trafford.

The challenge for Solskjaer in the summer is to find players better than the ones he already has.

If he can somehow get West Ham to accept Jones in any deal to secure Diop for Manchester United, it would represent a really good piece of business.

Jones seems to be down the pecking order at Old Trafford and Diop represents a massive upgrade at centre-back.

West Ham might not be keen on any swap deal but nonetheless, United should still ask the question regarding the £67,000-a-week enforcer.