Manchester United defender Phil Jones will likely exit the Old Trafford this summer following the club’s mass exodus during the ongoing transfer window as they start a new era under Dutch manager Erik ten Hag. Three Premier League clubs have expressed interest in signing the Englishman. All three clubs want to reinforce their defence and the England international could be an economical option.

The 30-year-old defender has been at Manchester United for more than a decade. He is now also eligible for a testimonial match but the chances of that happening are pretty low. Nevertheless, the possibility of the defender staying beyond this summer is quite low.

Jones featured for the Red Devils on just 5 occasions in senior competitions last season (stats via transfermarkt), that too only because of injuries to his teammates. He has dropped way down in the pecking order at Old Trafford because of his costly errors and tough competition in the squad.

According to Marca (via TEAMtalk), Leeds United, Southampton and Fulham have added Phil Jones to their transfer list. Leeds want to improve their backline and quite obviously, considering their goal conceding record last season. Whereas Southampton had also conceded the fourth-most goals in the league in the 2021/22 season.

On the other hand, Fulham will want to add a player who has good Premier League experience. The newly-promoted side will try to stay in the 1st division but has very few players with English top-flight experience. The Cottagers also did win the Championship last season, so they will not want to get relegated that easily.

Southampton, Fulham and Leeds United are all interested in signing #mufc defender Phil Jones. [@MARCAinENGLISH]

— The United Stand (@UnitedStandMUFC) June 18, 2022

The 30-year-old has made just six Premier League appearances in the span of three years at United (stats via transfermarkt). He missed the whole of the 2020/21 season through injury. In his later years at the club, Jones failed to capitalise on the promise he had shown earlier in his career. He started well in the 2017/18 season but a series of mistakes let him down as he went through a period of terrible form.

The Downfall Of Phil Jones At Manchester United

Phil Jones arrived at United in 2011 from Blackburn Rovers. Sir Alex Ferguson had then believed that Jones could be United’s “best player ever”. Players like Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic and Steve Bruce have worn the iconic jersey of Manchester United but it was the Englishman who was touted to be the “best ever” by Sir Alex.

Following his arrival at the club, the English defender played regularly for the Red Devils for the next four years. That also earned him a place in the 2014 World Cup and 2018 World Cup with England. Everyone liked his tackling and no-nonsense defending, combined with his ability to command. He had leadership qualities from a very young age and that impressed Sir Alex Ferguson.

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However, the 30-year-old defender faced several niggling injuries, causing him to miss a lot of matches. In his 10 years at United, Jones has been able to stay fit to play more than 40 games in a season just once and more than 30 games just twice. In fact, he has suffered 23 injury problems which made him miss more than 200 matches for the Red Devils (stats via Transfermarkt).

Not only that, the non-stop internet trolling in response to a few costly errors could have had a lasting effect on his confidence in a negative way. A fresh start with a new club could do Phil Jones a lot of good. He might just get his career back on track. He still has a few years left to show us a glimpse of the “best player ever” that he could have been.

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