Its goodbye David Jones but is it hello to Giles Barnes?

It seems only yesterday that I stated David Jones was under pressure to remain at United. Two unconvincing games later and it appears that the player is all set to agree personal terms on a move to Derby County. The one thing that people have not considered is that United may be using David Jones as a way of getting a deal for Giles Barnes (18). Giles Barnes has already attracted interest from Liverpool and Everton with the clubs willing to go up to over £2m for the signature of the Under 19 England player. I hope this saga is not about waving goodbye but about saying hello to a player with good potential. He's younger and I believe he is better.

Lets not forget David Jones is 22. He is being moved on because of what it takes to break through at United, nothing more. People can go on all they want about David Jones representing a failure of United to bring young players through in recent years but I would point to three things in response:

Firstly, David Jones is 22 and did okay on two loan spells but that’s it. He never was ‘the one’ that many United fans spoke about. I am sure he will carve out a career for himself and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that or anything new about a player not making it at United.

Secondly, becoming first-team at a club like Manchester United is not a simple task, and nor should it ever be. Many more talented players than David Jones have not been able to convince so there is no embarrassment for the player or more importantly anything wrong with the stance of the club. You want the bar to be as high as possible otherwise the club fails to progress. Rooney and Ronaldo are good examples of what it takes. They are two of the finest young players in the world game. As a United fan that is how it should be, the trick is to find the next and be ruthless about it.

Thirdly, no club in the Premiership is producing a steady flow of world-class young players from its local community. It just doesn’t happen like that. Many have opted now to source from abroad and rightly so. You do not run a world-class operation by limiting your resourcing options.

So for those of you worrying that David Jones’ imminent departure represents a failure is without foundation. It simply represents a reality. In fact, I argue that’s exactly the way it should be. Ignore the clichés and think more about the Clichy's. This is not about how many home-grown players a club has. It is about one simple question at a club like Manchester United. Does the player have what it takes to succeed at United? A question I trust Fergie to answer in the next few days. After-all can you think of one young player told to leave United that was a mistake? Quite.

As I said, my only real interest on this issue is to question whether behind the scenes there is deal to bring Giles Barnes to Old Trafford…