Fans of Manchester City have been reacting to a post on Twitter, which relays comments made by Manchester United centre-back Phil Jones, who claims that he rejected moves to Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester City and Arsenal in order to join United.
Jones told MUTV (via Goal) that he “could have gone to a host of clubs: [Manchester] City, Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal and Everton” before he moved to United in 2011.
In reaction to his comments, which were relayed by Man City Xtra on Twitter, fans have flocked to have their say on the matter, with many stating their belief that City had dodged a bullet in not signing the player all those years ago.
Phil Jones:
“I had offers from other clubs [in 2011]. I could have gone to a host of clubs: [Manchester] City, Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal and Everton…"
[@ManUtd via @goal] pic.twitter.com/c7dpuzSF5V
— City Xtra (@City_Xtra) April 11, 2020
So in other words half the league dodged a bullet nine years ago.
— Dave Strong (@DaveStrong11) April 11, 2020
Imagine we signed jones ?
— Harry Cooke (@HarryCooke891) April 12, 2020
Sure Phil, sure
— Trade Secrets (@_TradeSecrets) April 11, 2020
All those clubs breathed a sigh of relief when he signed for United
— russ phillips (@rustyp29) April 11, 2020
Good grief, what a relief! You are playing for the right Manchester club.
— Tabanzy (@Tabanzy1) April 11, 2020
You gotta be joking bud
— paul johnson (@paulyinoz1966) April 11, 2020
What do we think?
While many City fans are apparently relieved that their club missed out on the signing of Jones back in 2011, it is easy to forget how highly rated the then-Blackburn Rovers player once was.
Former England manager Fabio Capello once suggested Jones may become only the third player he had worked with who was as equally gifted in both central midfield and defence – with the other two players being Franco Baresi and Fernando Hierro – while Gary Neville had also compared Jones to Bryan Robson and Roy Keane.
As such, it is no surprise to hear that so many top sides were interested in Jones all those years ago.