Manchester United’s £16m bid for Blackburn’s Phil Jones came as a surprise to most fans as there were far more pressing transfer concerns that needed to be addressed. Clearly the attention from all the other top clubs forced United’s hand, with Jones a player they were keeping an eye on to sign in the future.

The sale of Wes Brown and John O’Shea has helped make more sense of it too, as well as the theory he had been bought to play in a holding midfield role, as he had done on occasion at Blackburn.

Since joining United, he’s played in the centre of defence and at right back, and has today claimed that in defence is where he is at his best.

“That is definitely where I play my best football,” he said. “I like to see the game in front of me and read the play. When the manager asked me to move into midfield at Blackburn it was strange. I didn’t expect it. It took a few games to adapt to that role and the positions I should take. But if I was asked to do that here, I would feel comfortable with it.”