Manchester United defender Phil Jones is reportedly in line to receive a new long-term contract at the Old Trafford club, according to reports. Jones’ contract is set to expire this summer with United having the option to add a further year to his deal, which was signed in 2015. Reports which materialised in The Metro suggest that instead of the year being added to his current contract, the club would reward the player with a new long-term contract.
Jones is just 26 and it seems that he has been at the club for way too long. Sir Alex Ferguson signed Jones from Blackburn Rovers in the summer of 2011 for a fee of around £17 million and he was tipped for stardom by the legendary manager. However, eight years after his arrival, a series of injuries and poor form seem to have plagued the England international. Recently though, Jones has been chosen to start by caretaker manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and has remained fit.
The Sun suggested that Jones was in resurgent form for United at this stage of the season but for me, it is anything but resurgent. He just does not seem like a player that many will be happy with in defence. He seems clumsy at times and his lack of confidence is something of a liability. However, he does have a good game in him every now and again. It just seems that the Glazers and Ed Woodward are happy with Jones and Chris Smalling as the most experienced players in central defence, which is poor from them.
Jones has recently spoken about his current predicament, which leaves him in the situation that staying at United is not his decision. Going into this season, I personally thought that with both Smalling and Jones out of contract this summer, the club would have to work hard to bring in defenders worthy of playing for United. In my opinion, both have not covered themselves in glory, especially playing for three permanent managers after Ferguson. Speaking to Sky Sports, Jones said:
“I’m very settled – I’ve been settled for a long time here. Ever since I walked through the door I was made to feel very welcome. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time – it’s been great and long may it continue.
“Of course I do [want to stay] – it’s Manchester United. This club has been part of my life for many years now. I love the club, the fans, the players. We’ll see what happens. It’s not down to me what happens.”
Whilst he seems to be a player with many teammates on his side at the club, Jones really has lost the majority of patience supporters have with him in the team. There are times when Jones is on that ball and you worry about what is going to happen. He also does not look all that confident when United play against bigger teams, which makes me wonder about how he could fare against the likes of Paris Saint-Germain if he was to play against them next week.
Many will hope that these reports are premature and built on nothing but the media speculation on a slow news day, but looking at this with some logic, the Glazers and their own version of economics; glazernomics, this has some truth about it. Last summer, Jose Mourinho wanted a commanding central defender to add some strength to the back line. Heading into deadline day, there was nothing but rumour then came Woodward’s briefing to the media which stated that United had better players already!
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