Jones: I'm the wrong person to hammer Norrington-Davies over Stoke move

Hatters boss Nathan Jones believes he isn’t the right person to be ‘hammering’ defender Rhys Norrington-Davies ahead of his reunion with the Hatters this weekend.

The 21-year-old full back headed to Kenilworth Road in the summer from Sheffield United, penning what was supposed to be a season-long loan move.

However, despite playing 22 times and gaining a first senior cap for Wales, Norrington-Davies opted to cut short his stint in Bedfordshire during the January transfer window, joining Stoke City instead as he declared it the 'best move' for him.Since arriving at the Bet 365 Stadium, the defender has played four games for the Potters, but had to sit out the last three after being sent off in the 1-1 draw with Huddersfield.

When asked whether he had spoken to Norrington-Davies following his decision to leave, Jones, who himself made the decision to exit leave Luton for Stoke as manager back in January 2019, said: “I think I’m the wrong person to be hammering him.

“We had a brief chat, a very, very brief chat before he had signed there, but that’s his decision, it’s fine.

"We can’t affect players' decisions or what they see is the right move, that’s up to them, because they’re not ours, that’s always the risk with loan players.”

On facing a Stoke side who have struggled for victories in recent weeks, picking up just one from their last 10 league games, with six draws, that on Tuesday night when beating Sheffield Wednesday 1-0, Jones added: “They’re a good side, a well organised side, have good individuals as I know, they have different individuals as well that they’ve signed.

“They signed quite a lot in the summer and the January window, so they’ve got threats.

“They're a good side, they’re a side with Premier League aspirations, so it will be a real, real tough game and it’s always a difficult place to go.”