This article is part of Football FanCast’s In Numbers series, which takes a statistical look at performances, season-long form and reported transfer targets…
After the signing of Harry Maguire in the summer for £80m, Phil Jones may have been forgiven for thinking his career at Manchester United was coming to an abrupt end. Axel Tuanzebe’s return from an impressive loan spell at Aston Villa certainly didn’t help his cause, and the England international would have been wondering if that was the final nail in the coffin.
The indoor football skills in the video below have to be seen to be believed…
Whilst Chris Smalling secured a loan move away to AS Roma to get some first-team football, Jones stayed put at Old Trafford, and would no doubt have been questioning whether he made the right choice. After all, in the opening weeks of the campaign, he had played just 135 minutes of football – 90 minutes in the clash against FC Astana, and then 45 minutes against Rochdale in the EFL Cup. Hardly the most glamorous of games to be playing in.
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But following Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s decision to opt for a back-five in the game against Liverpool in the Premier League last weekend, a door may well have opened for Jones. The centre-back started against Partizan Belgrade in the Europa League on Thursday night, and produced a performance that delivered a reminder to his boss that he could still yet revive his career in Manchester.
In a hostile atmosphere out in Serbia, the 27-year-old delivered a commanding display in defence, taking no prisoners with his rugged approach. As per Sofascore, he won an incredible 16 duels over the course of the game, more than any of his teammates, including big-money signing Maguire.
His reading of the game was particularly noteworthy too, registering three interceptions, whilst his five tackles were more than any United or Partizan player. If Solskjaer continues to persist with three centre-backs, then Jones could well find himself back in favour. He offers a slightly more combative approach to the game than the more assured Maguire and Victor Lindelof.
So whilst he may have been United’s forgotten man over the summer, Jones’ display in mid-week has proven it may to be too early to call time on his Old Trafford career.