MX23RW : Wednesday, February 27 13:06:11

Nemanja Vidic would not swap Phil Jones for Virgil van Dijk

Vidic would not swap Jones for Van Dijk
© Reuters
Nemanja Vidic would not swap any of Liverpool's defenders for Manchester United's current crop, implying that Virgil van Dijk is not better than Phil Jones.

Manchester United legend Nemanja Vidic has insisted that he would not swap the club's current defence for any players from this weekend's opponents Liverpool.

Despite an upturn in fortunes since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took charge two months ago, the Red Devils still remain weak at the back and have been linked with numerous defensive targets.

Phil Jones in particular has had to deal with criticism throughout his eight years at Old Trafford, but Vidic believes that the Englishman, along with the likes of Chris Smalling, Victor Lindelof and Eric Bailly, are at least on a par with anything Liverpool - who have £75m centre-back Virgil van Dijk in their ranks - have to offer.

"Well done to him to come back. It's not easy, especially playing for Man United, big club, to not start that well and have criticism from the media," he is quoted as saying by talkSPORT. "To come back from that and now perform well, it shows some character as well, which is important if you want to play for Man United.

"He has some quality definitely. He has done really well. I think Phil Jones did well in the recent games he played, Chris Smalling is a good defender, Bailly as well. I think we have four solid defenders and with the right match I think they can perform to the best of their capabilities.

"Overall, I said even before when they didn't have great games, if you look at the other teams, I would not have any defenders of Liverpool or Chelsea, I don't think they have better defenders than we have. I think now the team is playing better, they have more confidence and there will come even better matches from them."

Liverpool have conceded just 15 goals this term, compared to the 35 shipped by United.


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Marcus Rashford celebrates scoring Manchester United's second goal against Brighton & Hove Albion on January 19, 2019
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Tables
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool27206159154466
2Manchester CityMan City27212474205465
3Tottenham HotspurSpurs27200755272860
4Arsenal27165655371853
5Manchester UnitedMan Utd27157552351752
6Chelsea26155645291650
7Watford2711793935440
8Wolverhampton WanderersWolves28117103535040
9Everton28106123939036
10West Ham UnitedWest Ham27106113540-536
11Leicester CityLeicester28105133439-535
12Bournemouth27104133848-1034
13Newcastle UnitedNewcastle2887132634-831
14Crystal Palace2786133135-430
15Burnley2886143150-1930
16Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton2776142941-1227
17Cardiff CityCardiff2874172555-3025
18Southampton2759132846-1824
19Fulham2745182661-3517
20Huddersfield TownHuddersfield2835201550-3514

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