Manchester United will miss Phil Jones against Everton

Phil Jones

Manchester United will be without Phil Jones when the Red Devils welcome Everton to Old Trafford on Wednesday night. The 21-year-old collected his fifth domestic booking of the season in United’s 2-2 draw against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday and will now serve an automatic one-game ban. His absence will be notable in tomorrow evening’s fixture.

Sir Alex Ferguson tipped Jones as the player with the greatest potential in his former side and it seems if this is the case, he will be vital for both Manchester United and England. The one remaining question is where exactly the 21-year-old prefers to play, in defence or in midfield? He is adept in a number of roles, as we have seen so far during his time at Old Trafford.

This season he has emerged as a midfield player in David Moyes’ plans and it seems he will stay in this position for the foreseeable future. United have looked a better side when he has been placed in the middle with the instruction to stop anything, or anyone one, getting through.

Jones has appeared 10 times this term, playing a full 90 minutes on nine occasions. During this stretch he has made 345 passes, with an accuracy of 88%. With just two key passes, he does not bring a great deal of creativity to the United midfield, however he does a fantastic job of stabilising the team and he offers fantastic support to the back four.

With an average of nine Defensive Actions per match, including 61 clearances, 23 interceptions and four blocks, it is clear to see the impact he is having. He is often deployed with the task of marking the opposition’s key man, a role which has seen him succeed on a number of occasions.

His most notable Premier League appearance this season came against Arsenal. After a commanding and versatile performance in the 1-0 defeat of the Gunners at Old Trafford, David Moyes will have been assured of the youngster’s ability.

He played a vital role in minimising the impact of their opponents record signing, Mesut Ozil, who barely had an opportunity to influence the match. He adds the German to a world class list of player who he has dominated over the past 12 months, including the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale.

Against Everton on Wednesday night, he probably would have been given the task of marking fellow Englishman Ross Barkley. The youngster has bags of ability and he will prove a real handful for the United defence. In this department Jones will be sorely missed, as it is hard to see any of the club’s available midfielders stepping up to such a hard task.

The defender-come-midfielder is proving his ability in his new starring role and I’m sure Sir Alex will be watching the club this season with a sense of smugness throughout.