Jones enjoying meteoric rise
Jones enjoying meteoric rise | Manchester United Football Club News, Fixtures, Results, Gossip | Football365
Manchester United centre-back Phil Jones has admitted his England call-up has come much earlier than expected.
It is only two months since Jones was looking forward to a brief break before joining up with his new team-mates after concluding a £17million move from Blackburn to Manchester United.
According to Sir Alex Ferguson, the deal only went through because he offered Jones an assurance he would get plenty of football this season.
Those have already proved to be wise words. After starring in all three Premier League wins for the Red Devils this season, Jones has been catapulted into the senior England set-up.
"It is an opportunity I didn't expect, but it's a great feeling for family and friends," Jones told the FA's website.
"There's no fear. We all know why we are here. We are all playing well for our clubs. There is just an excitement and enthusiasm to get out there and start playing."
Whether that comes to pass in Sofia on Friday evening is open to question given the urgency with which England need to collect three points from the Euro 2012 qualifier with Bulgaria.
However, whether he is part of Fabio Capello's starting line-up or not, Jones' talent has already been spotted by the Italian and he could be around for some time.
The same could also be said of United, although it was the opportunity of developing his talent under Ferguson that was so appealing in the first place.
"He was a massive part of it," confirmed the 19-year-old.
"As soon as I knew United were interested it was a no-brainer for me.
"I knew what a great manager he was and all the great players he has brought through over the years.
"It has been fantastic. I was really hoping that I could work with him and thankfully the deal went through."
It has also exposed Jones to some high-level banter from the likes of practical joker Wayne Rooney, although the striker has picked out another young team-mate, Tom Cleverley, as a target, suggesting on Twitter that he would 'baby sit' the midfielder whilst they were away.
Naturally, Cleverley does not feel that is necessary.
"Some of the tweets that Wayne sends out about me I feel like signing up just so I can respond to him, but I'm not on there yet," he said.
"Wayne might be saying he's babysitting us but we gave him a lesson on the golf course - have done for a few weeks.
"I might start charging for the lessons."
good stuff
Jones enjoying meteoric rise | Manchester United Football Club News, Fixtures, Results, Gossip | Football365
Manchester United centre-back Phil Jones has admitted his England call-up has come much earlier than expected.
It is only two months since Jones was looking forward to a brief break before joining up with his new team-mates after concluding a £17million move from Blackburn to Manchester United.
According to Sir Alex Ferguson, the deal only went through because he offered Jones an assurance he would get plenty of football this season.
Those have already proved to be wise words. After starring in all three Premier League wins for the Red Devils this season, Jones has been catapulted into the senior England set-up.
"It is an opportunity I didn't expect, but it's a great feeling for family and friends," Jones told the FA's website.
"There's no fear. We all know why we are here. We are all playing well for our clubs. There is just an excitement and enthusiasm to get out there and start playing."
Whether that comes to pass in Sofia on Friday evening is open to question given the urgency with which England need to collect three points from the Euro 2012 qualifier with Bulgaria.
However, whether he is part of Fabio Capello's starting line-up or not, Jones' talent has already been spotted by the Italian and he could be around for some time.
The same could also be said of United, although it was the opportunity of developing his talent under Ferguson that was so appealing in the first place.
"He was a massive part of it," confirmed the 19-year-old.
"As soon as I knew United were interested it was a no-brainer for me.
"I knew what a great manager he was and all the great players he has brought through over the years.
"It has been fantastic. I was really hoping that I could work with him and thankfully the deal went through."
It has also exposed Jones to some high-level banter from the likes of practical joker Wayne Rooney, although the striker has picked out another young team-mate, Tom Cleverley, as a target, suggesting on Twitter that he would 'baby sit' the midfielder whilst they were away.
Naturally, Cleverley does not feel that is necessary.
"Some of the tweets that Wayne sends out about me I feel like signing up just so I can respond to him, but I'm not on there yet," he said.
"Wayne might be saying he's babysitting us but we gave him a lesson on the golf course - have done for a few weeks.
"I might start charging for the lessons."
good stuff
Aye, Nani got clattered. Jones didn't even look back.