Having recently tied centre-back Chris Smalling down to a new long-term contract, Manchester United have added the former Fulham man's England Under-21 defensive partner Phil Jones to their ranks, and in doing so, may have combined England's future defensive pairing together ahead of their best years.
This article will analyze how the two differ from each other but ultimately compare the duo's similarities with their more senior squad members at both club and country. With Smalling already having been likened to teammate Rio Ferdinand since joining United, Jones' characteristics are more comparable to the likes of John Terry, Ferdinand's partner with England, and Vidic, the former's United foil.
Smalling vs Ferdinand
First up, arguably the most comparable pair in this analysis, the defensive styles of Ferdinand and Smalling have already been noticed, with the players' build and appearance only adding to the obvious similarities. The experienced frame of 32-year-old Rio Ferdinand commands the United and England back-lines in terms of aerial presence. While Smalling is also very tall, both players' slight builds are misleading when it comes to their dominance in defence. Smalling, just 21, has already emulated the ball playing capabilities that a young Rio Ferdinand became renowned for, and that is not where the similarities end.
In Smalling's 16 league appearances last term (11 starts), the lanky centre-back won a commanding 75% of his aerial duels, a figure identical to that of Ferdinand during his 19 appearances. In terms of tackles per game, Ferdinand plays second fiddle to his partners at both club and international level due to his competencies in the air and in averaging 1.3 per game, his score is all but identical to Smalling's figure of 1.4. Another area in which the teammates are equals lays in the pair's clearances per game, both making 6.5 a match on average. Add to this there similar blocks per game rate of 0.6 (Smalling) and 0.4 (Ferdinand) and it is clear to see why Alex Ferguson pin-pointed the youngster as the latter's eventual successor.
Areas in which the youngster needs to play catch-up to some degree understandably include his ability to read the game. Smalling made just half the interceptions of his more senior teammate with 1.3 and his figure is the lowest of the 5 players analysed. The only other facet in which Smalling may need to improve to emulate Ferdinand's success will be in his proneness to give away fouls. His figure of 0.8 is by no means an issue but in order to compare with Ferdinand he may need to be more measured in the tackle. Despite making 1.3 tackles per game last season, unbelievably, Ferdinand gave away just 0.2 fouls a match on average, the lowest figure of any outfield player for the champions last season, proving his excellence in terms of his economical approach to tackling.
Jones vs Terry
It is easy to overlook the fact that the imposing figure of Phil Jones is just 19-years-old due to the promise he has already shown. Such promise earned him a big-money move to Old Trafford this summer, with many questioning his ability to live up to the dizzying heights of the transfer fee. However, the former Blackburn man proved his worth for England's Under-21s at the European Championships this summer, and despite their early exit, the new United man eclipsed the performances of his fellow club mate Smalling. At international level he is already being tipped to break into the senior set-up sooner rather than later, with obvious comparisons being drawn to the playing style of John Terry.
The teenager is not the tallest but his strong build has already led to a successful partnership at youth level with the more upwardly imposing Smalling. Fabio Capello will no doubt be hoping that this is partnership can not only flourish for United, but also see the pair carry their form into the senior international squad. Jones' aerial success rate of 62% is unremarkable but not to be sniffed at due to his height, though there is definite ground to make up on Terry who, at a full 10cms taller, completed 71% of his duels last term. In a significantly weaker side than his comparable counterparts last season, Jones racked up an impressive 2.9 tackles per game ahead of second best Terry with 2.2. His interceptions per game of 2.9 again topped the 5 players analysed showing maturity for his age in his understanding of the play. Despite making more tackles per game than his competitors, the youngster managed to limit his fouls per game to just 1, only slightly worse than Terry's figure of 0.9.
Room for improvement in Jones' game if he wants to fill the boots of Terry in England's long-term plans may lay in his willingness to throw his body on the line. Despite playing for the weakest side of the three last season, the 19-year-old made fewer clearances per game than any of the other 4 centre-backs with 4.6, a score beaten by Terry with 5.1, and significantly so by the United trio. His blocks per game rate of 0.6 was also slightly inferior to Terry's 0.8, though these figures could be attributed to the fact that Jones played in a midfield role for Rovers last season for a significant spell. It remains to be seen where he will be utilized by Ferguson but his WhoScored rating of 6.97 whilst at centre-back trumps his scores from centre midfield (6.82) and defensive midfield (6.35) respectively.
Nemanja Vidic
If Smalling and Jones are to stamp down a regular place at centre-back for United they may need to be patient. The ever-present figure of Serbian Nemanja Vidic is still just 29 and shows no signs of faltering just yet. As previously mentioned, if Vidic's game is comparable to one of the younger Red Devils over the other it would be Phil Jones, and the 19-year-old has some way to go in certain categories in order to rank up to the Serb's standards.
Areas in which Jones is already showing his capabilities alongside the statistics of Vidic include his tackling, with 2.9 per game beating his new teammates 2.1, though again this is directly attributable to the side he was representing. His interceptions per game of 2.9 to Vidic's 2.6 also fare well while a facet in which he already has a march on Vidic is in his fouls committed per game having conceded 1 to Vidic's 1.1 from a higher number of tackles.
However, the experienced United skipper from last season completed an advanced aerial success rate (67% - 62%) and blocks per game rate (0.9 - 0.6). The greatest difference between the two is in clearances completed per game. Vidic's supreme figure of 9.5 in a title winning side from last season is remarkable and more than doubles Jones' total of 4.6, an obvious attribute to work on for the new signing in order to live up to Vidic's cult hero status with the United fans.
