Van Gaal Won't Wait for 'Penny to Drop' with Evans, Smalling, Jones at Man Utd

Gary Neville, in his role as a Sky pundit, has become one of the most respected commentators on the Premier League. Even Liverpool fans, who loathed him as a player, have had to admit that he talks a lot of sense.

He knows his stuff, and his opinions carry a lot of weight. With that said, his comments this week about Manchester United's defence should be cause for alarm among their fans.

In quotes carried by the Manchester Evening News, the former United captain said the "penny hasn't dropped" with Chris Smalling, Phil Jones and Jonny Evans.

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With the likes of Smalling, Jones and Evans we still have great hopes for that penny to drop.

They're still developing and picking up injuries but when they stop and the penny drops you think: 'We've lived with his faults, development and now we're getting the benefit of it.'

There is no doubt that Jones, Smalling and Shaw have talent but they need experience, maturity and injuries to stay clear and they will fly.

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United fans are entitled to wonder that if the penny hasn't dropped by now, will it ever? All three are international footballers. 

Clint Hughes/Associated Press

Jones might only be 22, but he's played more than 150 first-team games. Smalling is 25, with Evans the oldest of the three at 27. The Northern Ireland international, in particular, is reaching his peak years. And he's running out of time to prove he belongs at the level Louis van Gaal wants to reach.

They all are. The Dutchman's rebuild at Old Trafford is only in its early stages. It's set to continue in the summer when his top level targets become available.

Tim Ireland/Associated Press

He's already brought in Marcos Rojo to bolster his defence. It's likely more will follow before the start of next season. It means that Jones, Smalling and Evans have got four months to prove to Van Gaal that, in Neville's words, the penny has dropped.

They are all good footballers. They wouldn't be playing for United if they weren't. And perhaps if they hadn't picked up so many injuries, their development might have been further along, and Neville wouldn't have felt the need to discuss their prospects at all.

Matt Dunham/Associated Press

But Van Gaal is hoping to win the Premier League and Champions League during his stay in Manchester. And if he doesn't think Evans, Smalling and Jones can help him do it, they will be cast aside just as Danny Welbeck, Shinji Kagawa and Javier Hernandez were in the summer.

All three are running out of time to prove they belong at Old Trafford in Van Gaal's new era. Unfortunately for them, he's not the type to wait for the penny to drop.