Manchester United News: Defender Closing in on New Old Trafford Deal

Versatile England defender Phil Jones is believed to close to extending his stay with Manchester United, as the player has agreed to sign a new contract, that will see him pocket around £80,000 a week, with the club.

The contract extension is a possibility this week, and it ends uncertainty over the future of Jones at Old Trafford, whose present contract ends after the end of next season.

The deal for Jones is touted to be similar in nature to his teammate Chris Smalling's contract extension at Old Trafford in April this year. Smalling's current contract expires in 2019, and he is also believed to be pocketing around £80,000 a week.

Jones, who joined the Red Devils in the summer of 2011 from Blackburn Rovers for an amount in the region of £16.5m, was awarded a deal for five years. Over the course of four seasons, Jones has gone on to make a total of 128 appearances for Manchester United, under the tutelage of Sir Alex Ferguson, David Moyes, Ryan Giggs and Louis van Gaal.

He has also five goals to his name, as well as nine assists.

Van Gaal has not been quite able to find the right pair in the centre of the defence, as he missed the lethal pairing of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic, ever since he took over at Old Trafford. However, Smalling believes that the exit of the two stalwart defenders meant that the other defenders in the squad had to step up.

He also mentioned his good partnership with Jones, and feels the English pair have stepped up their game.

"When you consider the outgoings at centre back, players had to step in and luckily I've been one of those who has had a good run, especially in the second half of the season," Smalling was quoted as saying by the Daily Mail.

"I think we have proven we can fill the gap. It's one where it just builds over time and we've had our chance this season and now it is all about building on that next season."

The Dutch gaffer however is no doubt looking for options to snap up a good defender in the summer transfer window, with the club believed to be chasing Real Madrid centre-back Sergio Ramos with pretty serious intent.

Interestingly, most of the defenders in the current squad of the Red Devils - Smalling, Jones, Marcos Rojo and Danny Blind - can be deployed both as a wingback as well as a central defender, and also at times as a defensive midfielder.