Manchester United might be thinking about improving their attack but with David De Gea seemingly set to leave the club for Real Madrid this season, the search for a good defender shoots up the priority list for Manchester United. They currently have Evans, Jones, Smalling and Rojo as their first choice centre-backs, but the collective showing last season was anything but positive as in reality, David De Gea saved the club from losing quite a few games and United made it into the top four thanks to the Spaniard’s brilliant display between the sticks.
John Stones To Manchester United?
While Hummels clearly stated that he would not be moving to Manchester United this season as he prefers to stay at Dortmund, the club could be eyeing someone much close to home for their defensive solutions. As they did with Wayne Rooney all those years ago, they are targeting a young English defender in John Stones from Everton, Stones who came up big last season and played 23 games in the Premier League but could he do the job that United expect from him?
Too young and too fast
To be perfectly honest, Stones is not ready to play for such a big club so early in his career, it isn’t because he is not talented, but he hasn’t had experience of playing in the Premier League for long enough, remember when United signed young defenders like Smalling and Jones from Fulham and Blackburn? They were loaned back to their parent club so that they could get enough Premier League experience before joining the club and having a go.
That worked out exceptionally well at the start of their careers and this is exactly what John Stones needs as well, more experience of playing top level games, if he is brought into United, it certainly would not lead to starting games on a regular basis for the club. He would end up as a squad rotation player which would stagnate his growth.
Speaking of growth, although he did play a huge part in Everton’s season last time around, his performances weren’t the best, when he broke onto the scene a couple of years ago, he seemed ready for the Premier League but last season showed that he is far from the finished article and needs a cool head when he plays a succession of games. The 21-year-old would be an asset for any club but only if he gets the right amount of exposure and not being thrust into the spotlight for Manchester United at the moment would be the best thing for his case.
As for United, they need someone who is strong and commanding in the back four and that is not what Stones can provide the club at the moment. United have the big bucks to spend and that is exactly what they need to do if they are looking for a serious solution to their problem.