Manchester United's England centre-back Phil Jones has offered to play for the club's under-23 youth team, playing the team's last Premier League 2 league game of the year, against Chelsea.
Jones, 29, has been with United for 10 years but has been recuperating from injuries for the past 18 months and hasn't played any official game. However, after the new coach Ronnick took office, Jones was included in the list of participants in both rounds of the Premier League, and although he was ultimately unable to appear, "The Athletic" reported that Lonnick was very satisfied with Jones' training attitude.
In fact, before the final round of the Champions League group stage, Lonnick made it clear that if United had not previously registered Jones in Europe, he would definitely play for the Bernese youth. In the end, the Red Devils made a cameo appearance at center-back with Nemanja Matic, teaming up with Eric Bai to form a defensive line. This position could have belonged to Jones.
With Varane on the verge of returning and the Champions League already in the knockout stages, with Manchester United Drawing Premier League rivals Aston Villa in The Third Round of the FA Cup, Jones' next appearance in an official match is slim. Therefore, he applied to play as an over-aged player in the under-23 youth team in order to find the status of the game.
United's under-23 youth team, the second team, is coached by Coach Neil Wood, and Jones has played one game for the team this season, playing arsenal with England international Dean Henderson to make it 3-1. On Friday, Manchester United II will face Chelsea at home to The Sport village in Leeves, and Jones wants to start.
Jones last played for United's first team in the FA Cup with Tranmill in January 2020, when he also scored a goal. But various injuries since then have made him never return to the court. For Jones, it may be difficult to achieve another appearance for The United first team, and his more realistic goal is to try to attract potential buyers and leave the team in the winter transfer window next January. According to British media rumors, Newcastle and West Ham may be Jones's potential next home, but he must prove that he has been freed from injury in order to attract a real offer. Manchester United may also adopt a rent-before-buy approach, allowing other teams to try out the Flying General in the second half of the season, and then decide whether to buy him out next summer.
On Monday night, United's under-18 youth team began their journey in the FA Youth Cup this season and advanced to the next round with a 4-2 win over Skenthorpe United at Old Trafford. It is worth mentioning that Harrison Parker, a 15-year-old English student player in the game, was selected for the big list, although he did not play, but it also attracted the attention of the British media. Scoring for United were Sam Mather, Alejandro Garnaccio, Maxi Oyedelli and Charlie McNeill.
Harrison Parker, a centre-back, left Arsenal's nine-year academy this summer to join Manchester United. The England under-16 national youth team needs to first attend school during the day on Monday and go directly to Old Trafford after school to play in the 19:00 kick-off. United have a tradition of involving 15- or 16-year-olds at the 18-year-old level, and in the past in the Youth Champions League, the likes of Shora Shoretire, Angel Gomez and Marcus Rashford have all crossed the level.