Manchester United Sign Phil Jones From Blackburn Rovers

There had been some questions over the validity of the transfer raised by Blackburn owners Venky’s, who contested that simply meeting the buyout clause did not entitle Untied to buy the player. Apparently, those protests have had minimal effect on Sir Alex Ferguson and company - Jones’ transfer fee is believed to be in the realm of 16.5M, equivalent to the buyout value.

Jones is believed to have cost Sir Alex Ferguson around £16M thanks to a buyout clause in his contract, without which he probably would have gone for significantly more. Although the centre half only has one full season in the Premier League (and even that was somewhat curtailed by injury) and no full international caps to his name, he’s extremely highly regarded by teammates and managers - it sounds as though United got a very useful player for years to come with this move. Jones is believed to have signed a five-year contract.