Blackburn Rovers boss Steve Kean has insisted that he is not surprised by Phil Jones success at Old Trafford, and has tipped the 19-year-old to become captain of club and country in the future.
In a season in which Manchester United have been decimated by injury, Jones has been the Red Devils most consistent performer.
“I have not been surprised at how Phil Jones has settled into life at Manchester United one bit,” Kean told reporters.
“When I first saw Phil down at the academy I thought ‘this boy is a player’. I always hoped he would captain our club. Now he is at Manchester United, I am sure he will captain them and he will captain England.”
Jones was always going to Ewood Park for greener pastures after a brilliant 2010-11 campaign, and there’s no doubt that his exit has hurt Blackburn Rovers back four this season, but Steve Kean believes that Blackburn will benefit in the long-term.
“We can’t stop developing them. They have to play and be a part of what we are doing. Then we have to fight tooth and nail to keep them and convince them by staying, they are going to play rather than just be part of a squad,” Kean added.
“I appreciate it is difficult. In the case of Phil, he was being offered Champions League football and we were getting a sizeable fee. And I always felt he would go straight into their team anyway such is his quality.
“He has proven that. The first indication was that he received a low squad number. That suggested he was going to play a lot of games. He will go on to become a very good player, of that I have absolutely no doubt at all.”
Blackburn are bottom of the table at the moment, having tallied just 11 points in 18 games. Rovers have won a Premier League low two games thus far, and have yet to emerge victorious away from Ewood Park.
It’s been a tough season for Kean…to say the least.
That being said, he is confident that Rovers’ ownership will give him funds to avoid relegation, and has admitted that he will not sell any of his current squad in January.
“I am very optimistic we will get funds. Hopefully they can come back in the next few days and say that we can be active at a good level,” Kean continued.
“Obviously there is money that has come into the club, none more so than Phil Jones going to Manchester United. We want to keep the squad together, build on it and make sure we can add faces and not take them away.”
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