Can Jones be a United legend?

Tuesday, 14/06/2011

by Amit Mistry, Shoot's Manchester Unted blogger

Manchester United’s first signing of the summer is not a goalkeeper or a playmaker, but an England Under-21 defender.

Phil Jones, 19, has impressed in the past two seasons at Blackburn. Despite signing a contract extension with Blackburn until 2016, it seems that Blackburn and Jones could not resist the large offer from the English champions.

Speculation of United signing Jones was consistent throughout the season. However, with Arsenal and Liverpool stepping up their interests, plus the Euro Under-21 tournament ready to start, Sir Alex Ferguson may have been compelled to act sooner rather than later.

Personally, I think £17m is an excessive price for a young player. However, Liverpool have just paid £20m for Jordan Henderson, and we have seen this year that Andy Carroll was bought for £35m. So it seems the values of young English stars are rocketing through the roof, and the major clubs of the Premier League want to create a strong English spine.

Jones is still in the very early years of his footballing career, which means he could potentially play for 15 good years for United. And if Ferguson does get the best out of him and he becomes a regular for the England side, then this would represent an excellent return on investment.

With the signing of Phil Jones, this could signal the exit of Jonny Evans. Evans did impress in his first season. However, he has been error-proned this season, and the defence has seemed weaker when he is in the line-up. Alternatively, he could convert into a utility player like John O’Shea. O’Shea started off very similarly, but he has proved to be a valuable squad player and has delivered reliably whenever he was called upon.

With Rio Ferdinand suffering from regular injuries and Nemanja Vidic requiring a break from time to time, defensive cover is required. Phil Jones and Chris Smalling could be the defensive partnership for cup games, and looks to be groomed to become the future central defenders in the starting line-ups for United and England.

Not only will Jones be surrounded by the best personnel in England, but he will have the opportunity to play in the Champions League, which is very fortunate for him at such an early age. This type of exposure will also boost his chances of breaking into the England first team in the future. However, it would still be early days for him to be in contention for the Euro 2012 squad next summer, unless he has an incredible first season with United.

Many have already begun the plaudits for Ferguson in pulling of an excellent signing. Now it will remain to be seen if he will become a legendary defender like Gary Pallister, Jaap Stam and Nemanja Vidic.

• 

• Have your say