Phil Jones has insisted that he can replace Nemanja Vidic and become a key member of the Manchester United defence next season.
The young English defender found playing time at the heart of the defence hard to come by last season as Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic kept their partnership alive, but with the summer exit of both to Inter Milan and QPR respectively, Jones is now favourite to get a starting place.
New United boss Louis van Gaal is understood to be considering his options in defender and has been continuously linked with a move for Sporting Lisbon’s William Carvalho, whilst links to Thomas Vermaelen of Arsenal also continue.
However, Jones, who played in United’s 7-0 win over LA Galaxy on Thursday morning, believes he can be the perfect replacement for Vidic and Ferdinand.
“Of course, proving I’m good enough to replace Rio and Nemanja is ultimately what I want to be doing,” the 22-year-old told reporters. “You’ve got to thrive on the challenge rather than be daunted by it. We’ve lost two great defenders in Rio and Nemanja, but that’s football and we move on.
“We’ve got good players to replace them and hopefully we can all step up and improve that. If we all stay fit we’ve got a great chance. That’s what we aim to do.”
