Ex-Man Utd player reveals he held transfer talks with Arsenal and Tottenham before Old Trafford move
A former Manchester United player has revealed how he considered moves to Tottenham and Arsenal
A former Manchester United player has revealed how he held face-to-face talks with Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur over a potential transfer but a meeting with Sir Alex Ferguson made his mind up on his next destination.
Phil Jones was a player in demand back in the summer of 2011 as an impressive start to his Blackburn Rovers career peaked the interest of a number of the Premier League’s biggest clubs. Along with Man United, Spurs and Arsenal - Jones was also wanted by Everton and Manchester City.
Jones, still only aged 32, is now retired from professional football having played 229 times for United. He had his struggles with injury before opting to hang his boots up last year.
Jones reveals Arsenal and Spurs interest
Speaking on the No Tippy Tappy Football podcast on YouTube, Jones said: “So believe it or not, Sir Alex was the last to come in. I’d spoke to David Moyes, I went to David Moyes’ house at Everton.
“I’d spoke to Man City, but I think they were going through a time where they didn’t really know which managers and they didn’t know whether they were going to change the manager. I can’t remember who was in charge. They didn’t really know who was coming in, and I didn’t want to come in knowing who actually wanted me at the club. Who else did? I had Harry Redknapp on the phone at Tottenham.
“And so I was going, I was actually going to meet United. And then Arsenal had been in the peripheral as well. So I was actually going to meet Sir Alex and then going to meet Arsenal straight after. I was meeting Arsenal an hour, two hours later. And you can’t say that. I just said to my agent, it doesn’t really matter what anybody’s going to offer now. Like my mind’s made, done.”
Would Jones have improved Arsenal or Spurs?
Jones was a key figure for the Red Devils under Sir Alex, as he made 29 Premier League appearances in his first season under the Scotsman as well as six in the Champions League. The 2018/19 season proved to be his final season as a regular as he made 18 appearances but in the following campaigns as minutes were limited.
In the first season (2011/12) after Jones opted against joining Arsenal. Then manager Arsene Wenger had Thomas Vermaelen, Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker as his three main central defenders. Vermaelen played 40 games across all competitions, while Koscielny made 42 appearances. Mertesacker was called upon 28 times - one more than Johan Djourou. Arsenal conceded 49 goals in the Premier League in the 2011-12 campaign while United conceded just 33.
At the time, Younes Kaboul was Spurs’ number-one centre-back as he made 35 appearances in the 2011-12 season. Tottenham also had Ledley King and William Gallas to call upon along with Michael Dawson. King and Gallas played 21 and 17 games, respectively with Dawson appearing just seven times. Jones did not have the same injury problems in his early days at United and could have been a consistent partner for Kaboul. Although Spurs did only concede 41 goals that season, with just four clubs having a better record.