Phil Jones: Is this finally the end of the road at United?

When Manchester United announced the full squad for the 2022/23 Premier League season, there probably wasn’t much surprise that Phil Jones was omitted. He missed the entire pre-season and hadn’t featured in any training amongst the first team.

Game time Severely reduced

His game time has been further reduced as Jones is not included in the Europa League squad either. If he proves his fitness, which at this moment in time seems unlikely to happen; then the only chance to feature will be in the Carabao Cup or FA Cup.

With his contract due to end in the summer, it is likely that Jones has played his last game at the club that he joined back in 2011. United do have the option to extend it by another 12 months. However, with the past two seasons beset by injuries and setbacks which Jones has described as “hell”; the England international should be allowed to leave quietly and in a dignified way.

A promising player but lack of consistency on the pitch

Back in 2011, Sir Alex Ferguson was so keen to sign Jones that he flew him out to France and convinced him to join United. There was competition from Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal for his signature but United secured the deal for £16 million.

Injuries never seem far away for Jones as between 2011 and 2019 he made 216 appearances; which was nearly 30 games on average a season. Whatever position he was asked to play in whether it was at centre back, right back and in the midfield, he did the job to the best of his ability.

Jones has earned praised from the managers he has worked with. It could be argued that when looking back at his career at United, it will be remembered for the games he did not participate in; rather than those he played in.

If you were to describe Phil Jones’s story at United, it would go as followed. He would put in a string of good performances and then get injured resulting in time on the sidelines. The same cycle would happen again and again.

When Ole Gunnar Solskjær was appointed caretaker manager at United back in 2018, Jones started eight of the 11 games under the Norweigan. This saw the club offered him a four year contract, which was signed in February 2019. Since then, he has only featured in 16 games.

Possible Retirement and Toll on Mental Health

Jones suffered a knee injury back in February 2020, which ruled him out for up to a year. During the covid pandemic, he had considered retiring from the game.

The injuries suffered over the years took it’s toll on his mental health too with abuse coming from social media. Jones has not posted to any of his Twitter and Instagram accounts since May 2017.

We now come to September 2022 and are now again in a familiar situation with Jones. He had thought his battle with injuries had taken a turn in the right direction but it is the case of back to square one.

Finally turning a corner?

He had made a comeback for the United under 23s back in September 2021. This was his first appearance since January 2020. Jones had been in good spirits telling the United website:

“Thankfully, I see the light at the end of the tunnel now, and I’ve been back training, played a few behind-closed-doors games and I’m feeling really good at the minute.”

Phil Jones via ManUtd

He had every right to think he was turning the corner in his injury prone career. Jones made his return to the first team back in January against Wolves. Even though we lost the match, he put in a strong performance and was man of the match. You could see how emotional it was for him as the crowd sang his name as he walked off the pitch at full time.

He made five appearances under interim manager Ralph Rangnick. With the 2022/23 season underway, Jones now finds himself looking on from the outside.

Time to move on

Jones was pictured during training as the players returned for pre-season but nothing since then. If his spell at the club was to end right now, he will be happy to have made that comeback last season.

We would have hoped he could return to fitness and make a significant contribution to the team. For us fans, it is best for him to move on whether that be via loan, sell him or released from his contract at the end of the season.

This time last year, there was light at the end of the tunnel but 12 months on, Jones should regain his fitness and look to move on from United.