At clubs the size of Manchester United, things move very quickly. As a result, if you are not performing at the level required to make the team, it is not too long before you are forgotten. That has appeared to be the case with Phil Jones.
The Englishman was one of the most highly-rated defenders at the club during the last years of Sir Alex Ferguson in charge. Although he has gone on to make 224 appearances for the Red Devils, it is hard not to feel that he has never managed to quite reach his potential.
With the likes of Harry Maguire, Victor Lindelof, Eric Bailly and Axel Tuanzebe now ahead of him in the pecking order, he would struggle to get too many minutes on the pitch anyways. And he has clearly not been by the constant injury issues over the last few years.
But it looks like he will be afforded another chance by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, as the Red Devils aim to challenge for the Premier League title this season, as reported by The Mirror.
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Phil Jones is one of the few current Manchester United players to win the Premier League in the past
While, it might be easy to forget, Jones is one of the few players in this squad who has already tasted Premier League success. After all, he will complete a decade at Old Trafford at the end of this season. And with the tight schedule of this season, Solskjaer could use a presence like him both on and off the pitch.
Bailly and Lindelof have both had their injury troubles, and he could fill in for them on occasion. Now, that does not mean that he will be a regular starter for the club once again. That probably won’t happen at this point in his career. But he could end up playing an important part nonetheless, owing to his past experience.
That is quite something for a player who looked headed for the exit just a month ago.