Biggest issue for Jones IMO were injuries and SAF retiring. if SAF stayed I think he could have been a top CB but of course if he got injured it'd have been over. big shame.
Happens though, Badstuber was looking like a top CB at Bayern before his injuries too.
All of the players that could have been elite got royally fecked by Moyes and Van Gaal coming in IMO. The only player that really benefitted was Rashford breaking through.
Based on what exactly? He has been here over 10 years, played 229 matches and never has shown anything that he can be a good CB, let alone a top one. His positioning was always bloody awful, he was vulnerable in 1 on 1, he wasn’t a good passer, his brain constantly switched off.
His best performances came either on his first season, when he played as right-back (with Rafael injured), or in pit bull role (for example, against Real Madrid). But as CB, he was always a disaster, even Maguire is a massive improvement in that position.
Without injuries, he would have had a career like O’Shea. A good utility player who can deputize in 5 positions. Which to be fair, was his role anyway.