Erik Ten Hag gives an update on Manchester United’s ‘Forgotten star’ Phil Jones’s departure in the summer

Phil Jones has spent majority of his Manchester United career on the sidelines, as his injury prone career comes to an end.

Erik Ten Hag gives an update on Manchester United’s ‘Forgotten star’ Phil Jones’s departure in the summer

Phil Jones during the unveiling of the Manchester United away jersey. Image via Jones' Instagram page.

Manchester United defender Phil Jones‘ contract is going to expire at the end of the season. Phil Jones, aged 30, has managed to start only 2 games in the last three years, as he has been injured for most parts of his career with United. Eric Ten Hag informed that Jones has not even completed one training session, since his arrival at United’s managerial post. With that being said, his career remains uncertain, as United are reportedly open to offers for the injury-ridden player.

It’s been a difficult career for Phil Jones since he started under Sir Alex Ferguson 11 years ago. While he had a promising future ahead of him, his absence due to injuries eliminated the possibilities. The player, who is bound to leave after his contract expires, has not even been registered in the Premier League or Europa. This leaves him with the option of playing in domestic cups only until his contract expires.

Sir Alex had once said that Jones could be the best player of his generation. The legendary manager had said back in 2013, “Jones, arguably, the way he is looking, could be our best-ever player.” Whether his prophecy would’ve been realised or not is going to remain a question.

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“The decision about that is for the summer, but for the whole season he’s injured,” Ten Hag stated about the former Blackburn man’s future. “I can’t say (if Jones will play again this season). What I can say is that he’s not available for training since the first day of training this season so I think there’s not an opportunity for you to recover quickly and be available quickly,” Ten Hag added.

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After United’s rocky start to the season, Ten Hag has finally managed to yield the results he was hoping for. The United defence looks rejuvenated, while ex-Real Madrid player Casemiro has been one of the key players for the Red Devils this season. The Brazilian midfielder has won 58 aerial duels and 92 tackles this season for United. He is currently ranked 5th in the Premier League based on these stats alone.

The Manchester United players are still adjusting to the drastic changes that Ten Hag made to the playing style, as he aimed to fix the defence before focusing on the attack. Ten Hag has switched to a more ball-retention-based approach, demanding players to be able to be composed on the ball even under intense pressure.

These changes helped in yielding four crucial wins in the league, consecutively. United have slowly started building up attacks, while their star defender Lisandro Martinez and Luke Shaw, have been spectacular in their recent matches.

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