{"id":262608,"date":"2026-09-14T19:40:11","date_gmt":"2026-09-14T19:40:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/09\/14\/45m-wasted-man-utd-star-is-becoming-another-phil-jones-at-old-trafford\/"},"modified":"2026-09-14T19:40:11","modified_gmt":"2026-09-14T19:40:11","slug":"45m-wasted-man-utd-star-is-becoming-another-phil-jones-at-old-trafford","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/09\/14\/45m-wasted-man-utd-star-is-becoming-another-phil-jones-at-old-trafford\/","title":{"rendered":"\u00a345m wasted: Man Utd star is becoming another Phil Jones at Old Trafford"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Since the days of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic at Manchester United<\/a>, it would be safe to say that the Red Devils have lacked an elite and, more importantly, a settled defence.<\/p>\n

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Throughout the years, we’ve seen the likes of Chris Smalling, Phil Jones, Jonny Evans, Marcos Rojo, Eric Bailly, Victor Lindelof, Harry Maguire and Lisandro Martinez all fail in their quest to become the new Ferdinand and Vidic.<\/p>\n

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Should we be surprised? Arguably not. Rio and Vidic were two of the best centre-backs in Premier League history<\/a>. Still, it has been nearly 15 years since those days. At some point, United need to find an answer.<\/p>\n