Manchester United defender Phil Jones has admitted that he wants to play a part in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side in the Europa League to cement his place as a regular starter.
The English central defender has not managed a single minute this season as Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has preferred to use new record signing Harry Maguire as the 26-year-old arrived in the summer along with Victor Lindelof in front of goalkeeper David de Gea.
Jones managed to make it to the bench for the narrow 1-0 Premier League victory over Brendan Rodgers’ Leicester City on Saturday and could come into selection contention when United begin their European campaign against Astana at home on Thursday night.
The Europa League game will be the first of three matches in the space of a week for the Red Devils and Solskjaer might have to rotate his players in order to give key players a break. This might string up an opportunity for the 27-year-old Jones to showcase his ability for the Norwegian manager to try and get regular football.
While speaking to reporters, Jones said, “There are players like myself who’ve not been involved as much, but it’s a chance for everyone to get games. It’s a busy period when all the games come thick and fast when you need a big squad with everyone ready to fight. But it’s a period we relish. Since I came to this club – when I walked through the door – I knew I wasn’t just going to walk into the team and expect to play. Today’s no different. Of course, I want to play, but we’ve got some quality players in that position. I’ll wait for my chance and hopefully, I’ll get a chance sooner rather than later.”
